Preparation of UiO-66-NH2/Bi2.15WO6 composite with enhanced tetracycline degradation under weak light intensity

Photocatalysis is a promising technology for wastewater treatment. It is a key problem to develop photocatalytic materials that can efficiently remove tetracycline (TC) under weak light intensity. This article synthesized the UiO-66-NH2/Bi2.15WO6 heterojunction using a solvothermal method, and its specific surface area increases by 2.1 times relative to Bi2.15WO6, endowing good adsorption capacity for TC. Compared with Bi2.15WO6, the heterojunction effectively improves the separation of electrons and holes and enhances the photocatalytic performance. Under weak light intensity (4 mW cm(-2)), the removal percentage of 50 mg L-1 TC can reach 78.0%, attributing to a synergistic effect between adsorption and photocatalysis. The free radical capture experiment showed that TC was photodegradation mainly under the action of hole (h(+)) and superoxide radical (& BULL;O-2(-)). Finally, through LC/MS analysis, it is inferred that TC is degraded into H2O and CO2 after a series of reactions such as deamination, dehydroxylation, amide bond breaking and ring opening. This study provides insights for the synthesis of more powerful photocatalysts for TC removal.