Synthesis of bifunctional composites Ag/BiOCl/diatomite: Degradation of tetracycline and evaluation of antimicrobial activity

Abstract In this study, Ag/BiOCl/diatomite composite material was prepared by simple hydrothermal method on the basis of diatomite, which has the dual effect of degrading tetracycline and inactivation of microorganisms (E. coli). The structure and properties of the composites were analyzed by various characterization methods. According to the obtained data, the degradation rate of tetracycline (TC) reached 97.8% by Ag(7.5%)/BiOCl/diatomite composites within 60 minutes of visible light irradiation. Under natural conditions, the antibacterial activity of the composite to E. coli decreased to 99.9% after 25 minutes. After three repeated experiments, the prepared composite samples still have good catalytic performance, which shows the stability of the catalyst. Finally, a possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed. Oxygen vacancies (OVs), superoxide radicals (•O2-), holes (h+) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) are significance active substances, which play an important role in the photodegradation of TC. In this experiment, Ag/BiOCl/diatomite composite material was prepared to degrade tetracycline in water with high antimicrobial activity, which provides a simple method and has a certain application prospect.