Exploring hexagonal boron nitride as an efficient visible light induced catalyst for the remediation of recalcitrant antibiotic from aqueous media

Abstract

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a novel non-metallic material which is newly discovered in the field of photocatalysis due to its high surface area, excellent optical features and high electrical conductivity. Herein, hexagonal boron nitride whiskers were fabricated by using the polymeric precursor method and, the photocatalytic degradation performance was measured towards tetracycline antibiotic under visible-light-illumination. The morphological, physical, and optical features of the catalyst were identified by several characterization analyses. The characteristic peaks associated with the hexagonal phase of boron nitride were determined and high crystallinity of h-BN was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The characteristic B−N absorption peaks were detected in the Fourier transfer infrared spectrum. Brunauer− Emmet−Teller specific surface area of the boron nitride catalyst was calculated as 1019 m2/g which was relatively high, supplying abundant active regions to interact with the target pol- lutant. In photocatalytic degradation experiments, 91.9% of tetracycline decomposition was achieved within 180 min with a catalyst dosage of 0.2 g/L and initial concentration of 10 mg/L. The outstanding catalytic activity of the h-BN catalyst was attributed to the high surface area and negatively charged groups on the surface which captured the photo-induced holes and inhibited the recombination rate of charge carriers. These findings highlight the potential ap- plication of h-BN in the field of photocatalytic processes.