Plasmonic induced Biochar@WO3/Cu composites for boosted photocatalytic antibiotic removal

Developing advanced plasmonic photocatalysts is utmost demanded for antibiotics removal in wastewater remediation. In this study, plasmonic copper (Cu) and tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanosheet decorated with biochar composites were successfully fabricated based on in-situ pyrolysis method. Biochar@WO3/Cu (BWC) composites exhibited excellent visible-light photocatalytic removal activity of tetracycline, and the degradation efficiency achieved 75 % after 90 min, which is significantly higher than pure biochar and WO3. Plasmonic Cu nanoparticle combined with biochar synergistically enhanced adsorption of tetracycline and promoted separation of photogenerated electron-hole. Notably, trapping experiments of free radicals confirmed that the generated superoxide radicals center dot O2- were responsible species for tetracycline degradation. Additionally, the cycling operation stability and the corresponding were also elucidated. In all, this work reported a novel construction for surface plasma resonance semiconductor photocatalysts for water purification.