Assembling Bi3TaO7 nanodots on tubular carbon nitride to boost photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline under visible light irradiation

Due to the development of society, the problem of ecological pollution by the extensive use of antibiotics (tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, etc.) has attracted the broad attention of many scholars. Herein, a novel Bi3TaO7 nanodots (BTO)/tubular carbon nitride (TCN) type-II heterojunction was prepared by a low temperature solution phase approach for tetracycline (TC) degradation under visible light irradiation. The experimental results showed that the as-fabricated BTO/TCN heterostructures exhibited superior degradation rates of TC than that of bare TCN and BTO. The optimal loading amount 0.3 %BTO/TCN sample displayed the highest TC degradation rate of 99.6 % under 120 min of visible light irradiation, which is 1.13 and 1.04 times than that of pure TCN and BTO, respectively. This is due to the unique tubular structure of TCN that can expose more active sites as well as type-II heterojunctions effectively impede the rapid complexation of photogenerated electron pairs under a potential difference. This strategy provides new insights and references for the design of type-II heterojunction construction.