The present work reports an improvement in the photocatalytic performance of cerium ferrite (CeFeO) via doping of antimony (Sb) towards the photodegradation of toxic pharmaceutical pollutant i.e. diclofenac potassium. The variable concentrations of CeSbFeO (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.09) were prepared using facile co-precipitation route and subsequently characterized for their optical, structural, morphological, and dielectric properties using various analytical techniques. It was established that an increase in Sb concentration as dopant (up to x = 0.07) reduced the optical band gap from 2.74 eV to 2.42 eV making it suitable candidate for photodegradation. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed orthorhombic phase of synthesized materials with small crystallite sizes in the range of 15.28 to 2.42 nm. The high value of dielectric constant (3.5841 10) for CeSbFeO with small loss tan (3.1208) compared with the CeFeO indicated its ability as photocatalyst to effectively store charges to make them utilize for photocatalytic activity. The degradation efficiency of CeSbFeO reached 86.7% in 120 min of light irradiation under optimized conditions (pH = 4, catalyst dosage = 15 mg, primary drug concentration = 5 mg/L). CeSbFeO was also found to be stable over its multiple catalytic runs as only 6.5% decline in degradation efficiency was observed in recyclability test. The remarkable performance of antimony doped cerium ferrite against the removal of persistent pharmaceutical pollutant indicated its strong potential to be used in wastewater treatment in future works.

中文翻译：

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掺锑铈铁氧体：一种强大的光催化剂，用于缓解双氯芬酸钾（一种新兴污染物）

目前的工作报告了通过掺杂锑（Sb）提高了铁酸铈（CeFeO）的光催化性能，以光降解有毒药物污染物（即双氯芬酸钾）。使用简便的共沉淀路线制备了不同浓度的 CeSbFeO (x = 0.00、0.01、0.03、0.05、0.06、0.07、0.09)，并随后使用各种分析技术对其光学、结构、形态和介电性能进行了表征。已确定，作为掺杂剂的 Sb 浓度增加（最高 x = 0.07）可将光学带隙从 2.74 eV 降低至 2.42 eV，使其成为光降解的合适候选者。 X 射线衍射 (XRD) 图显示合成材料为斜方晶相，晶粒尺寸小，晶粒尺寸在 15.28 至 2.42 nm 范围内。与CeFeO相比，CeSbFeO具有较高的介电常数（3.5841 10）和较小的损耗角正切（3.1208），表明其作为光催化剂能够有效存储电荷以使其用于光催化活性。在优化条件（pH = 4，催化剂用量= 15 mg，初级药物浓度= 5 mg/L）下，光照射120 min，CeSbFeO的降解效率达到86.7%。 CeSbFeO 在多次催化运行中也很稳定，在可回收性测试中观察到降解效率仅下降 6.5%。锑掺杂铈铁氧体在去除持久性药物污染物方面的卓越性能表明其在未来工作中用于废水处理的巨大潜力。