Synthesis, photocatalytic activity for tetracycline degradation under visible light, and kinetic study of Ag/AgCl/ZIF-11 nanocomposite.

For the first time, Ag/AgCl/zeolitic imidazolate framework-11 nanocomposite (Ag/AgCl/ZIF-11) as photocatalyst was synthesized and investigated on tetracycline (TC) degradation under visible light. ZIF-11 (Z), Ag/AgCl (A), and four composites (AZ, AZ, AZ, AZ) were made and characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman, BET, SEM, EDS, XPS, and DRS analysis. The characteristic peaks of ZIF-11 and Ag were observed at 4.3 and 38.2° in the XRD pattern of AZ, respectively. A good distribution of Ag/AgCl on the surface of ZIF-11 was observed by FESEM of AZ. The improvement of visible light absorption ability and reduced e/h recombination of AZ were confirmed by DRS and PL, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation of TC was described using the zero-order kinetic model with a degradation efficiency of 95.4%. The stability and reusability of AZ were investigated during three consecutive cycles. Finally, the results of this study provide convincing evidence for using Ag/AgCl/ZIF-11 as highly efficient photocatalysts for removing TC from aqueous solutions.