In situ fabrication of CdS/Bi4NbO8Cl hybrid photocatalysts for enhanced antibiotic residue degradation

Constructing a highly efficient and stable photocatalyst is a promising strategy to protect the environment. In this work, we creatively synthesized a novel CdS/Bi4NbO8Cl heterostructured photocatalyst by in situ hydrothermal method. By using ciprofloxacin as target antibiotic residue pollutant, it is found that the CdS/Bi4NbO8Cl shows improved photocatalytic efficiency compared to bare CdS or Bi4NbO8Cl, and the photocatalytic activity of CdS/Bi4NbO8Cl with the molar ratio of 0.3 is the highest, reaching about 90%. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope were employed to study the composition, morphology, and structure of the composite photocatalysts, while UV–vis diffuse reflection (UV–vis DRS), photoluminescence, transient photocurrent response, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Mott–Schottky plots together show that the significant improvement in photocatalytic activity is due to synergistic effects of enhanced light harvesting and separation of photo-induced charges carriers, caused by the intimate contact between CdS and Bi4NbO8Cl. It is expected that the facile, low-cost method and the excellent performance of the synthesized photocatalyst in this paper can contribute to the management of water pollution.