A novel La2MnTiO6 perovskite for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

Abstract One of the majority of environmental pollution is caused by organic substances resulting from anthropogenic and industrial activities, such as dyes, antibiotics, and similar substances. Due to these pollutants’ strong stability, they are difficult to decompose, and their breakdown can only occur slowly through chemical or biological processes. Photocatalysis is a potential method for environmental clean-up with a significant oxidation capacity and a rapid response rate. Among them, double perovskite is an emerging alternative to single perovskite, which has recently shown comparable or even better performance for degrading organic pollutants. The first report on the synthesis of La2MnTiO6 (LMTO) double perovskite for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) degradation was made in this work. By using XRD, FE-SEM, BET, and EDX analysis, the crystalline structure morphology, and elemental composition of the samples were identified. According to the calcination temperature, only at temperatures greater than 700 °C could the LMTO material be successfully formed. The photocatalytic performances of the prepared samples were evaluated by degrading TC under a UV LED lamp at 365 nm. The 800 °C calcined sample exhibited the highest TC degradation performance, reaching around 62% in 120 min. Besides, the LMTO might eliminate another medicine such as Ciprofloxacin (CIP). Overall, these results offer a potential strategy for employing LMTO photocatalysts to remove various antibiotics.