Sulfur-Induced Vacancies in Ba2Bi1.4Nb0.6O6 Promoting Photocatalytic Tetracycline Hydrochloride Degradation

• Published in: Inorganic chemistry 2022-12, Vol.61 (51), p.20878-20885
• Main Authors: Xu, Fenghua, Pan, Zhipeng, Weng, Baicheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0020-1669; 1520-510X
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c03274

Solar-driven photodegradation has attracted great attention, given that it provides a promising solution for eliminating antibiotics in aqueous environments, due to its environmental friendliness and economic feasibility. However, solar conversion efficiencies are restricted by insufficient sunlight absorption and ineffective charge separation/transfer. Herein, the incorporation of sulfur into Ba2Bi1.4Nb0.6O6 nanorods brings about O and S vacancies, leading to significantly enhanced light absorption and charge separation/transport efficiency by almost 4 times. As a result, the obtained material exhibits greatly improved photocatalytic degradation efficiency for tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light irradiation with outstanding stability. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency is highest among the state-of-the-art photocatalysts for tetracycline hydrochloride degradation. This work paves a promising pathway to develop highly efficient photocatalysts with a narrow band gap.