Strategic combination of nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots and g-C3N4: Efficient photocatalytic peroxydisulfate for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride and mechanism insight

Haoyun Chen, Xin Zhang, Longbo Jiang, Xingzhong Yuan, Jie Liang, Jin Zhang, Hanbo Yu, Wei Chu, Zhibin Wu, Hui Li, Yifu Li

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Photo-assisted peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation has exhibited a great potential for pollution control. In this study, metal-free nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) modified g-C3N4 composite was fabricated and used to activate PDS under visible light to effectively remove tetracycline hydrochloride (HTC) in wastewater. Specifically, almost 90% of HTC (20 mg/L) was removed in 60 min under the conditions of an initial value of catalysis dose of 0.5 g/L and PDS dose of 0.6 g/L. Electron spin resonance analysis and trapping experiments confirmed that [rad]SO4, [rad]O2 and h+ were found as the dominant contributors to the HTC degradation. PDS and N-CQDs acted as an electron acceptor to transfer the photogenerated charges, resulting in the successful activation of PDS. The promoting visible light absorption can be ascribed to up-conversion effect of N-CQDs. The combination strategy provides an innovative approach to synthesize binary metal-free carbonaceous photocatalysts for implementing PDS-based oxidative degradation of pollutants.

Original languageEnglish
Article number118947
JournalSeparation and Purification Technology
Volume272
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2021

Keywords

  • Advanced oxidation process
  • Metal-free
  • N-CQDs/g-CN
  • Peroxydisulfate
  • Visible light photocatalysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Filtration and Separation

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