AgBrO₃/Few-Layer g-C₃N₄ Composites: A Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst for Tetracycline Degradation

The AgBrO₃/few-layer g-C₃N₄ composite photocatalyst has been developed via an in-situ synthetic method. The structure, morphology, light response range, separation and migration efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs and element valence state of the as-obtained samples have been characterized. The tetracycline was used to discuss the photocatalytic activities of the samples. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of the as-obtained composites was also researched. The analysis results show that the photocatalytic degradation property of the asobtained composite photocatalyst appears to the tendency of first increasing and then decreasing with increasing the amount of AgBrO₃ under visible light illumination. When the mass ratio of AgBrO₃ to g-C₃N₄ is 4:3, in 60 min, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the as-obtained composites reaches the maximum of 79%. It is 37% and 45% higher than that of pure AgBrO₃ and g-C₃N₄, respectively. Moreover, the separation and migration efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs of the as-prepared composites are also enhanced. In addition, superoxide radicals and holes are the dominant active species during the photocatalytic degradation process.