Constructed a novel of Znln2S4/S-C3N4 heterogeneous catalyst for efficient photodegradation of tetracycline

Despite S-doped C 3 N 4 can exhibit more efficient photo-reactivity than pure C 3 N 4 , there is still some space to further improve the detaching efficiency of electron-hole and enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of S-C 3 N 4 . The construction of heterojunction is an effective method to promote the photocatalytic efficiency. ZnIn 2 S 4 , as a novel photocatalyst, its VB (1.37 V) and CB (− 1.09 V) can match with S-C 3 N 4 . Therefore, we hope to construct the ZnIn 2 S 4 /S-C 3 N 4 heterojunction for boosting the photocatalytic activity of S-C 3 N 4 . In this paper, ZnIn 2 S 4 /S-C 3 N 4 heterojunction was prepared through hydrothermal method using S-C 3 N 4 , ZnCl 2 , InCl 3 ·4H 2 O, and thioacetamide as raw materials and heated at 160 °C for 16 h. The optimum 18% ZnIn 2 S 4 /S-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites exhibit dramatically enhanced photocatalytic performance for degradation of tetracycline with 86.3% removal rate within 120 min, higher than 50% degradation efficiency of pure S-C 3 N 4 . And in the process of photodegradation for tetracycline, the largest contribution rate is the photo-excited cavity (h + ), followed by ·O 2 − and ·OH. Herein, we have provided a good example for removing antibiotic residues by using S-C 3 N 4 -based heterojunction towards environmental remediation.