Improvement of synergistic effect photocatalytic performance for efficient removal of tetracycline by the construction of double sulfide heterojunction.

Photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutants in water has been recognized as one of the promising sustainable energy routes. In this study, ZnAlS x -coupled CdS heterojunctions were fabricated hydrothermally at different weight ratios to degrade tetracycline under visible light illumination. The result of the photocatalytic experiments indicated that 30 wt% ZnAlS x @CdS system achieved the optical degradation activity with TC (20 mg/L) removal efficiency of 96.25% in 180 min, which is the reason that ZAS on the surface of CdS can effectively inhibit the recombination of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs to enhance the photocatalytic performance of TC. The result of the radical capturing experiments indicated the specific electron migration pathway and the synergistic between ZAS and CdS nano-catalysts, in which electrons and hydroxyl radicals decomposed tetracycline. Furthermore, the as-prepared materials achieved high stability and reusability. In this study, an effective strategy was presented to fabricate high active catalysts over antibiotic removal. [Display omitted] • Facile hydrothermal fabrication of double sulfide heterojunction. • Electronic structure manipulated by synergistic effect of double sulfide nanocomposites. • Best activity with 30 wt% ZnAlSx-coupled CdS towards tetracycline degradation with visible light irradiation. • Photocatalytic performance mainly attributed to photogenerated carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]