Interfacial engineering of 0D/2D Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Ti3C2 for efficient photocatalytic synergistic removal of antibiotics and Cr(VI)

Abstract

The pollution of antibiotics and heavy metals in water environment is considered to be an urgent environmental problem. However, designing a photocatalyst that can simultaneously remove these contaminants remains a challenge. 0D/2D Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Ti3C2 (CZSMX) hybrids were fabricated by uniformly coating Cd0.5Zn0.5S (CZS) nanospheres on the surface of Ti3C2 nanosheets. The removal efficiency of the suitable CZSMX hybrid on tetracycline hydrochloride (100 mg/L), 7-amino-cephalosporin (100 mg/L), and Cr(VI) (50 mg/L) is 92%, 97%, and 72%, respectively. Meanwhile, it still exhibits excellent photocatalytic removal activity in the mixed contaminants solution. Additionally, CZSMX-3 exhibits outstanding physical and chemical stability after 5 cycles. Importantly, the enhanced photocatalytic activity of CZSMX is attributed to the accelerated charge carrier separation due to the excellent electrochemical and photochemical properties of Ti3C2. Overall, this study provides a strategy for the efficient collaborative removal of antibiotics and heavy metal from wastewater by photocatalysis of metal sulfide based photocatalysts.