Hydrothermal synthesis of dendritic CuBi2O4 and its photocatalytic performance towards tetracycline degradation under different light conditions

Abstract

Dendritic CuBi2O4 with excellent photocatalytic performance towards tetracycline (TC) degradation was firstly prepared by hydrothermal synthesis method. Light condition and oxygen atmosphere both play an important role in the photocatalysis of CuBi2O4. Under Mercury lamp irradiation with deoxidation, TC can be rapidly removed within initial 5 min and its photodegradation rate constant is 0.1247 min-1, which is 36.68 times of that only under Mercury lamp irradiation. Moreover, free radical sequestration experiments suggest that the photogenerated hole (h+) and electron (e-) are mainly involved in the degradation of TC. Besides, the efficient separation of h+-e- pairs contributes to the enhancement of photocatalytic activity of CuBi2O4.