ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Chem.
Sec. Photocatalysis and Photochemistry
Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of CeO2-NbC-x catalysts for degrading oxytetracycline in aquaculture water bodies
Provisionally accepted
Fanggang Hong
Langtao Gao*- College of Resources and Environment, Jilin Agricultural University, jilin changchun, China
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The aquaculture water body is rich in antibiotics, which has caused great harm to the natural environment. It is urgent to adopt special means to degrade antibiotics from the source and reduce their impact on human production and life. In this study, the CeO2@NbC (CeO2-NbC-x (where x denotes the wt% of NbC)) catalyst was synthesized by the molten salt method, polyacrylamide gel method and heat treatment technology. Multiple characterization methods confirmed that there were no other impurities in the CeO2-NbC-x catalyst, and a special contact was formed between the CeO2 and NbC interfaces. The CeO2-NbC-x catalyst exhibits high ultraviolet and visible light optical absorption coefficients. Using oxytetracycline hydrochloride as the target pollutant, the effects of catalyst concentration, pollutant concentration and pH value on the photocatalytic activity of the CeO2-NbC-x catalyst were investigated. When the catalyst concentration, pollutant concentration and pH value were 2 g/L, 75 mg/L, and 5, respectively, the degradation percentage of CeO2-NbC-x catalyst reached 99%. Based on capture experiments and band arrangement theory, a new photocatalytic mechanism of the CeO2-NbC-x catalyst has been proposed. This research provides new ideas for the application of wide bandgap semiconductors couple semiconductors with metallic properties in the field of photocatalysis.
Keywords: CeO2@NbC, Molten salt method, Oxytetracycline hydrochloride, photocatalytic mechanism, Polyacrylamide gel method
Received: 31 Dec 2025; Accepted: 10 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Hong and Gao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Langtao Gao
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