Enhanced Visible-Light Degradation over N-CDs-Modified Bi7VO13 : Role of Interfacial Charge Transport

Abstract

Antibiotic contamination has become a critical challenge in global water management, and photocatalysis has emerged as a promising strategy to address both environmental and energy issues. Although the novel photocatalyst Bi7VO13 shows intrinsic potential, its catalytic performance is hindered by high photogenerated charge carrier recombination rates and low quantum efficiency. In this work, Bi7VO13 was synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method by simple pH modulation, and nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) were incorporated to construct an N-CDs/Bi7VO13 composite photocatalyst. Under visible-light irradiation, the N-CDs/Bi7VO13 composite achieved an 89.5% degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (initial concentration 10 mg/L) within 90 minutes, corresponding to a 2.42-fold enhancement in degradation rate compared to pristine Bi7VO13. Furthermore, the built-in electric field of the composite was significantly strengthened, indicating that N-CDs act as electron traps to effectively promote photogenerated charge carrier separation. The simultaneous enhancement of light absorption and charge separation efficiency enables a remarkable improvement in the antibiotic degradation performance of N-CDs/Bi7VO13. Overall, this study p offers a rational framework for the design of high-performance photocatalysts and offers a scientific reference for the future application of photocatalysis, paving the way toward addressing the dual challenges of environmental pollution and energy scarcity.