Abstract
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•2D/0D g-C3N4/CdS-nitrogen doped hollow carbon spheres (NHCs) hybrids were prepared.•Electronic properties were calculated based on density functional theory.•The g-C3N4/CdS-NHCs exhibited high visible-light-photodegradation for cloxacillin.•The synergy of g-C3N4/CdS and NHCs endowed the improved photocatalytic activity.•Active substances h+,O2−, and OH worked together in the photocatalytic process.
Herein, the high surface area and efficient visible light (VSL) induced photocatalyst, namely 2D/0D g-C3N4/CdS-nitrogen doped hollow carbon spheres (NHCs) composites have been prepared. Firstly, the physicochemical, photoelectric and electronic structures (including band structure, density of state and charge density difference) properties of the obtained samples were studied. Then, the photocatalytic experiments indicated that the g-C3N4/CdS-NHCs composites performed a markedly improved VSL photocatalytic performance and photostability for cloxacillin antibiotic degradation compared with pure g-C3N4, CdS and g-C3N4/CdS heterojunction. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4/CdS-NHCs composites could ascribe to the synergy between g-C3N4/CdS heterojunction and NHCs, which obviously improved the specific surface area, the absorption of VSL, the transfer rate of electrons and the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs of the photocatalysts. Finally, the mechanism analysis showed that active substances h+, O2−, and OH worked together in the photocatalytic process, which attack the β-lactam, thiazolidine ring and amide group should be the fatal act for CLX mineralization.