Construction of BiOCO/TiC heterojunctions for enhancing the visible-light photocatalytic activity of tetracycline degradation.

BiOCO (BOC) was successfully loaded on a highly conductive TiC surface by the hydrothermal method, forming a unique BOC/TiC heterostructure. The use of advanced characterization methods reveals the composition, morphology and photoelectric properties of the material. The results show that the interface formed by close contact between BOC and TiC provides an effective channel for charge transfer between the two. Importantly, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of BOC/TiC for tetracycline (TC) is ~80%, which is significantly higher than the degradation efficiency of pure BOC and pure TiC for TC. In addition, BOC/TiC still has high catalytic activity in the degradation of complex mixed antibiotics. This is because BOC and TiC have large specific surface areas, high light absorption capacity and efficient carrier separation after recombination. At the same time, the detected superoxide radicals (O) and holes (h) are the main active substances. The degradation pathway and catalytic mechanism of the photocatalytic degradation of TC by BOC/TiC are further explained. This research designed and developed a BOC/TiC composite material for the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline and mixed antibiotic wastewater, providing experimental methods and ideas for actual wastewater treatment.