Photothermal-Assisted Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline in Seawater Based on the Black g-C3N4 Nanosheets with Cyano Group Defects

Abstract

As a broad-spectrum antibiotic, tetracycline (TC) has been continually detected in soil and seawater environments, which poses a great threat to the ecological environment and human health. Herein, a black graphitic carbon nitride (CN-B) photocatalyst was synthesized by the one-step calcination method of urea and phloxine B for the degradation of tetracycline TC in seawater under visible light irradiation. The experimental results showed that the photocatalytic degradation rate of optimal CN-B-0.1 for TC degradation was 92% at room temperature within 2 h, which was 1.3 times that of pure CN (69%). This excellent photocatalytic degradation performance stems from the following factors: (i) ultrathin nanosheet thickness reduces the charge transfer distance; (ii) the cyanogen defect promotes photogenerated carriers’ separation; (iii) and the photothermal effect of CN-B increases the reaction temperature and enhances the photocatalytic activity. This study provides new insight into the design of photocatalysts for the photothermal-assisted photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutants.