Novel UiO-66/p-BN photocatalytic composites for efficient degradation of tetracycline under visible light

Photocatalysis can directly convert solar energy into chemical energy, has shown unique advantages in solving environmental and energy problems. In this paper, novel UiO-66/p-BN (UBN) heterojunction photocatalysts were successfully prepared by a simple solvothermal method. UBN-6 achieved a degradation efficiency of up to 93.8 % for 30 mg/L tetracycline under 180 min of visible light irradiation, which was 2.46 and 3.25 times higher than that of pure UiO-66 and p-BN, respectively. The enhancement of UBN photocatalytic activity stemmed from the incorporation of p-BN, which increased the specific surface area to expose more active sites, broadened the visible light absorption range, and promoted the separation of photogenerated carriers through the formation of heterojunctions. Free radical trapping experiments showed that ·O 2 - , ·OH and h + played important roles in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline pollutants. In addition, the photocatalytic mechanism of UBN was revealed by analyzing the degradation intermediates of TC by LC-MS. This work provides an effective strategy for designing visible light responsive photocatalysts to degrade pollutants.