A S-scheme heterojunction of 1D/2D TiO2/Bi2O2CO3: Precise interface engineering and exceptional membrane purification

Developing advanced photocatalysts for antibiotics degradation is utmost importance in wastewater purification. Herein, we designed to a unique 1D/2D TiO₂/Bi₂O₂CO₃ (TBC) S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts via a facile hydrothermal method, in which K₂Ti₈O₁₇-T nanowires are in situ transform into TiO₂ nanorod and then loaded on surface of Bi₂O₂CO₃ nanosheets. As-prepared TBC composites exhibited obviously enhanced photocatalytic removal activity for tetracycline (TC) degradation under visible-light irradiation, and the degradation efficiency achieved 86% after 60 min, which is significantly higher than pristine samples. This is because that the construction of 1D/2D heterojunction interface efficiently endowed the abundant surface oxygen vacancies and further boosted the separation and transfer of photoexcited carriers. Additionally, TBC composites maintained superior removal efficiency with continuous operation (600 min) in membrane reactor. The degradation pathway and toxicity estimation were also further investigated. In all, this work reported an integrated construction for 1D/2D S-scheme photocatalysts with efficient photocatalytic membrane removal for water purification.