Sm-doped mesoporous g-C3N4 as efficient catalyst for degradation of tylosin: Influencing factors and toxicity assessment

Abstract

Tylosin (TYL), as a difficult degradable antibiotic, has a high risk in inducing drug-resistant bacteria. Photocatalysis technology is identified as an effective method to removal TYL from water. Here, the Sm-doped g-C3N4 (SCN) was synthesized to serve as a novel photocatalyst for degradation of TYL. The characterization results showed that the SCN was embedded with unique mesoporous structure and excellent capacity of charge transportation. In addition, the tests of leaching toxicity, carried out with seed germination and E. coli, demonstrated that the SCN-x were safe in water treatment process. The Sm doping greatly enhanced the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 for degradation of TYL and Rhodamine B. It could realize a 3.55 (2.01) times higher than that of CN when the Sm doping amount was 0.025%. The environmental conditions on photocatalytic performance of SCN were systematically investigated, including initial pH, concentration of TYL solution, aeration rate and anion species. All experimental results indicated that the SCN-x catalyst might act as a promising candidate catalyst in photocatalyzation of antibiotic.