ZnO is widely recognized as UV-light driven photocatalyst due to its large band gap of ~3.2 eV. However, here, the synthesized ZnO nanorods demonstrated an excellent visible-light photocatalytic degradation efficiency for tetracycline up to 91.1% within 2 hours due to the quadruple roles of tetracycline as reactant, band adjuster, photo-sensitizer, and charge transfer promoter owing to the strong interactions and well-matched energy band positions between tetracycline and ZnO. Such a unique process shows a great promise for practical application in realistic water matrices. Furthermore, the acute and developmental toxicities were found to be reduced as the degradation proceeded. These results pave the path for the brand-new self-driven visible-light photocatalysis.

Multiple roles of tetracycline in its visible-light photocatalytic degradation over large-band-gap ZnO nanorods

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.