The Reusable G-C3n4/biocl-template Z Heterojunction Photocatalyst Prepared from Rose Templates Effectively Degrades Mixed Pollutants and High Concentration Pollutants While Reducing System Ecological Toxicity

The g-C3N4/BiOCl-Template porous catalytic material was prepared by the biotemplate method for the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC). The samples were characterised and tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and nitrogen physisorption. The results showed that the petal biotemplate was successfully removed, and the prepared g-C3N4/BiOCl-Template catalyst successfully replicated the surface morphology of the petal template as well as the porous structure, possessing a specific surface area 4.5 times higher than that of g-C3N4/BiOCl. The g-C3N4/BiOCl-Template porous photocatalyst not only exhibits excellent photodegradation efficiency of 95.6 % for 20 mg/L TC solution, but also shows effective photodegradation ability for high concentration TC solution, and the mixture of macromolecular pollutants. It is noteworthy that the g-C3N4/BiOCl-Template porous photocatalysts still exhibited 91.8 % photodegradation efficiency for 20 mg/L TC solution after five consecutive applications. In addition to this, the potential toxicity of TC and its intermediates was evaluated, and the results showed that the photocatalytic degradation process effectively reduced the ecotoxicity of antibiotic wastewater. Due to the Z-type heterojunction and the large specific surface area formed by replicating the porous micromorphology of the petal template, the recyclable g-C3N4/BiOCl-Templated photocatalysts showed good potential for practical applications. Design guidelines are provided for the preparation of green and inexpensive photocatalysts.