Straightforward FeOOH nanografting of Al-based SrTiO3 perovskite material as core–shell nanoflower-like heteronanostructure with enhanced solar light-driven photodegradation capability

[Display omitted] •Development of rational designed multi-component inorganic bulk heterostructure.•Versatile FeOOH nanografting of Al-based SrTiO3 as core–shell nanoflower-like heteronanostructure.•Enhanced solar light-driven photodegradation capability of Al:SrTiO3/Al2O3@Fe3O4/•FeOOH.•TEM reveals the presence of the lamellar FeOOH onto Al-based SrTiO3.•Availability of free charges and n-doping indicated by oxygen-deficient nature of interface.•The nanoflower-like morphology leads to effective photocatalytic performance. Extensive attention and considerable efforts have been made to construct efficient heterogeneous nanoparticulate systems for surface chemical reactions to be active in solar light-driven photodegradation. This work addresses current deficiencies of the nanoparticles-focused systems intended for visible light photodegradation by developing a newly-formulated innovative chemically-engineered multi-component system that functions as a recyclabe, nontoxic, active and inexpensive catalyst for photodegradation of tetracyclne antibiotic. Here, we show a straightforward FeOOH nanografting of Al-based SrTiO3 perovskite material as core–shell nanoflower-like heteronanostructure with enhanced solar light-driven photodegradation capability over harmful antibiotics. A persuasive surface formation mechanism is proposed based on systematic investigation of the assembly process. In-depth caracterization of structural, optical and morphological properties of the prepared samples was investigated using a series of complementary analytical techniques, such as XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, synchrotron XPS, as well as hard and soft XAS in both total electron yield (TEY) and fluorescence yield (TFY). The oxygen-deficient nature of core and shell interface indicates its n-doping and the availability of free charges in core which can be either transferred to the shell or create localized absorption levels into the valence band. This study provides a real opportunity to rationally photocatalysts design with very promising performance in water treatment.