Preparation of a high-performance N-defect ZnO@g-C3N4 nanocomposite and its photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Abstract

In this study, pure ZnO and N-deficient g-C3N4 (CN) were synthesized by co-precipitation method and simple calcination method, respectively. In addition, ZnO was impregnated on the surface of CN with mass percentages of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 respectively. In addition, these materials were characterized by XRD, UV-Vis-DRS, TEM, SEM, PL and FT-IR. As a prepared material, the catalytic activity of tetracycline in wastewater was tested under visible light irradiation. The results showed that among all these catalysts, 10 wt% ZnO/g-C3N4 (ZN) showed better catalytic activity. When the mass ratio of ZN was 1: 10 and the calcination temperature was 550 ℃, the interlayer spacing, specific surface area and pore volume were larger, and the tetracycline removal rate and catalytic performance were the best. At the initial concentration of 20 mL/L and the addition of 50 mg catalyst, the degradation rate of tetracycline hydrochloride reached 93.47% within 120 min with ZN (0.10). The degradation rate reached nearly 100% at 80 min after adding H2O2. Advanced oxidation process can greatly promote the degradation of wastewater and has guiding significance in large-scale industrial application in the future.