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Facile fabrication of a 2D/2D CoFe-LDH/g-C3N4 nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic tetracycline degradation

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Abstract

The widespread use of tetracycline (TC) in medicine and agriculture has caused severe pollution problems in the environment. In this work, a nanocomposite comprising of CoFe-layered double hydroxides grown on graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (CoFe-LDH/g-C3N4) with a notable two-dimensional/two-dimensional (2D/2D) heterostructure was synthesized through a facile co-precipitation method. The CoFe-LDH/g-C3N4 nanocomposite displayed significantly improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity towards TC degradation, compared to pristine g-C3N4 and CoFe-LDH alone. The enhanced activation efficiency was a result of intimate interfacial contact, enlarged the surface area, broadened visible-light absorbance, and enhanced photogenerated electron transfer. The scavenging experiments showed that holes (h+) and superoxide radical anions (‧O2−) played a crucial role in TC degradation. Factors including the type of TCs, initial concentration of TC, presence of ions, and the type of water matrix were investigated to evaluate the practical feasibility of the nanocomposites for TC removal from antibiotics-contaminated water. The repeated tests showed that the nanocomposites possessed good stability and recyclability. This study demonstrated the feasibility of achieving photocatalytic activity enhancement of g-C3N4 through the formation of a 2D-2D heterostructure between LDHs and g-C3N4.

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All data generated or analyzed during the current work are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Funding

This work has received the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21777116) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Biomedical Multidisciplinary Innovation Research Institute, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Mengxue Li, Stephanie Ling Jie Lee & Sijie Lin

  2. Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Mengxue Li, Stephanie Ling Jie Lee & Sijie Lin

  3. College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China

    Mengmeng Chen

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  1. Mengxue Li
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  2. Mengmeng Chen
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  3. Stephanie Ling Jie Lee
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  4. Sijie Lin
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Contributions

Mengxue Li: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, writing—review and editing. Mengmeng Chen: data curation. Stephanie Ling Jie Lee: writing—review and editing. Sijie Lin: project design, supervision, writing—review and editing, project administration, funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Sijie Lin.

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Li, M., Chen, M., Lee, S.L.J. et al. Facile fabrication of a 2D/2D CoFe-LDH/g-C3N4 nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic tetracycline degradation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 4709–4720 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22554-3

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