The design of effective bifunctional catalysts for the destruction of refractory pollutants and the production of H2O2 remains a major challenge. In this study, a number of new Ag6Si2O7/SmFeO3 (ASF) heterojunction catalysts were reasonably fabricated ...
The design of effective bifunctional catalysts for the destruction of refractory pollutants and the production of H2O2 remains a major challenge. In this study, a number of new Ag6Si2O7/SmFeO3 (ASF) heterojunction catalysts were reasonably fabricated through a simple precipitation strategy. The properties of the prepared ASF nanocomposites were confirmed through various characterization analysis. In particular, ASF-1.5 samples show excellent sonophotocatalytic efficiency (94.9%) on 60 min irradiation at an initial ciprofloxacin (CIP) concentration of 10 mg/L, catalytic capacity of 0.6 g/L, US power 400W, pH 5.0, and US frequency of 40 kHz. In addition, the optimized ASF-1.5 sample showed the best H2O2 production rate of 258.5 μM, which was 2.92 times higher than bare Ag6Si2O7. Scavenging experiments demonstrated that ∙OH and h+ are the first reactive oxidized species (ROS) in CIP degradation reactions. The synergistic effects of ultrasound and visible light can then promote the production of reactive oxide species, resulting in good efficiency in CIP degradation and H2O2 generation through ASF-1.5 heterojunction. Furthermore, a potential pathway for CIP degradation and provisional exposure catalytic mechanisms have been established. In summary, this study provided new insights into the rational design of highly effective ASF sonophotocatalysts for innovative energy production and ecological applications.