Highly dispersed BiVO4 nanoparticles supported by pseudoboehmite for effective removal of antibiotics

Abstract

BiVO4/pseudoboehmite (PB) composite catalysts were innovatively prepared using the cost-effective PB as support by a facile hydrothermal method. BiVO4 nanoparticles with an average size of 12 nm are highly dispersed on the surface of PB. Compared to pure BiVO4, the composite BiVO4/6 %PB exhibits high specific surface area (32.9 m2/g) about double that of pure BiVO4 (15.1 m2/g) which can provide more adsorption and photocatalytic reaction sites. Meanwhile, the composite has enhanced photogenerated electron-hole separation and transfer efficiency. As a result, it has a superior performance of antibiotics removal in water than pure BiVO4. The tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) removal efficiency of BiVO4/6 %PB can reach 87 % within 2 h with high stability (<7 % decay after four cycles) under LED lamp (380–780 nm) irradiation as well as high selectivity. Specifically, the adsorption efficiency and photocatalytic rate constant are respectively triple and double that of pure BiVO4. Simultaneously, the BiVO4/6 %PB also possesses high removal efficiency of amoxicillin (76 %). Our results indicate that the selection of cost-effective PB as catalyst support offers a new solution to solve the aggregation problem of BiVO4 nanoparticles and the composite obtained contributes to an economic and efficient BiVO4-based photocatalyst for antibiotics removal in sewage treatment.