Exploring hexagonal boron nitride as an efficient visible light induced catalyst for the remediation of recalcitrant antibiotic from aqueous media

Abstract

In this study, novel non-metallic hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) whiskers were fabricated by using polymeric precursor method and, the photocatalytic degradation performance was measured towards tetracycline antibiotic under visible-light-illumination. The morphological, physical, and optical features of the catalyst were identified by several characterization analyses. The characteristic peaks associated with hexagonal phase of boron nitride were determined and high crystallinity of h-BN was confirmed by XRD analysis. Typical boron and nitrogen bonding peaks were detected in FTIR spectrum. Brunauer−Emmet−Teller specific surface area of the boron nitride catalyst was calculated as 1019 m2/g which was relatively high, supplying abundant active regions to interact with the target pollutant. In photocatalytic degradation experiments, 91.9% of tetracycline decomposition was achieved within 180 min while the adsorptive removal was calculated as 20%. The outstanding catalytic activity of h-BN catalyst was attributed to the high surface area and negatively charged groups on the surface which captured the photo-induced holes and inhibited the recombination rate of charge carriers. These findings highlight the potential application of h-BN in the field of photocatalytic processes.