Structure-Regulated SrTiO3 Catalyst for Efficient Electrocatalytic Degradation of Chlortetracycline

The rapid industrialization of modern society has resulted in the extensive release of persistent organic pollutants into aquatic ecosystems, necessitating innovative approaches for wastewater treatment. Herein, a perovskite oxide material, strontium titanate (SrTiO₃, STO), is synthesized via a sol–gel method and employed for the first time as an efficient advanced electrocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants. The STO electrode annealed at 900 °C demonstrates superior degradation efficiency, achieving 86.3% removal of 60 mg L⁻¹ chlortetracycline. This outstanding activity stems from the optimized crystal structure and enhanced surface redox properties of STO, which significantly boost OH radical generation. Compared to recent electrocatalysts, STO achieves competitive degradation efficiency and lower energy consumption under mild conditions, highlighting a notable performance breakthrough. Mechanistic insights, obtained through liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and radical scavenging experiments, reveal that hydroxyl radicals (·OH) play a dominant role in the degradation process. Moreover, STO demonstrates exceptional long-term stability and broad applicability in degrading various antibiotics, underscoring its versatility and potential for treating complex organic wastewater. This work establishes STO as a cost-effective and scalable electrocatalyst with high stability and energy efficiency, addressing key challenges in electrocatalytic degradation and advancing the use of perovskite materials in environmental remediation.