Visible-light-driven degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride over 15 wt% Cu-doped CeO2 photocatalyst: Mechanism and performance study

Visible-light-driven degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride over 15 wt% Cu-doped CeO2 photocatalyst: Mechanism and performance study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Visible-light-driven degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride over 15 wt% Cu-doped CeO2 photocatalyst: Mechanism and performance study Chengcheng Li This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9477633/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In this study, a series of Cu nanoparticle-loaded CeO₂ (Cu-CeO₂) photocatalysts were successfully prepared through a hydrothermal route. The products were applied in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the 15 wt% Cu-CeO₂ sample achieved the best activity, degrading 85.3% of TCH within 60 min. The apparent reaction rate constant reached 33.84×10⁻³ min⁻¹, which was 5.12 times higher than that of pure CeO₂. The improved performance is mainly attributed to the narrowed bandgap, enhanced visible-light absorption, and accelerated charge separation efficiency induced by Cu loading. Based on characterization results and quenching experiments, a reasonable photocatalytic mechanism for TCH degradation over Cu-CeO₂ was proposed. Environmental Engineering CeO₂ Cu loading tetracycline hydrochloride photocatalyst charge separation Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9477633","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626673080,"identity":"1c8fe4d1-09e0-498a-9ea2-f9ba75ae26db","order_by":0,"name":"Chengcheng Li","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA10lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACfvaGxAcJFTZ2bPKHDxCnRbLnwGODB2fSkvkl2BKI02JwI/GZ5MO2w4wzZ/AYEOmyA8lpEolth5kNbvd8vPGGwU5Ot4GADsaGY8kWCefS+QzunN1sOYch2djsAAEtzIw9iTcSyqyZDQ7kbpPmYTiQuI2QFjZm/g8SCWzMjBsO5DwjTgsPG0OSREKbM9D7OWzEaZHgYUg2SAAFMs8xY8s5BkT4xf7+g8SHP0BRyd788MabCjs5glrQrCQ2apBdOQpGwSgYBaMAEwAAJY5HIutshzAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chengcheng","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-21 02:26:05","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9477633/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9477633/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107534070,"identity":"f260cffd-4015-4b1b-a8b2-b1099acd574f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 10:57:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":355816,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"CuLoadedCeO.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9477633/v1_covered_c09972b1-42f0-46cd-9998-1422ece71ccd.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eVisible-light-driven degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride over 15 wt% Cu-doped CeO2 photocatalyst: Mechanism and performance study\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"CeO₂, Cu loading, tetracycline hydrochloride, photocatalyst, charge separation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9477633/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9477633/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn this study, a series of Cu nanoparticle-loaded CeO₂ (Cu-CeO₂) photocatalysts were successfully prepared through a hydrothermal route. The products were applied in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the 15 wt% Cu-CeO₂ sample achieved the best activity, degrading 85.3% of TCH within 60 min. The apparent reaction rate constant reached 33.84\u0026times;10⁻\u0026sup3; min⁻\u0026sup1;, which was 5.12 times higher than that of pure CeO₂. The improved performance is mainly attributed to the narrowed bandgap, enhanced visible-light absorption, and accelerated charge separation efficiency induced by Cu loading. 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