Ultra-light and compressible 3D BiOCl/ RGO aerogel with enriched synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline

An ultra-light and compressible three-dimensional bismuth oxychloride/reduced graphene oxide (BiOCl/RGO) aerogel is fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method and characterized by various techniques. Owing to the improved visible-light response, lower internal resistance and enhanced electron transfer ability, the BiOCl/RGO aerogel (BGA) displays outstanding synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation. This not only reduces the diffusion distance between pollutants and photocatalysts but also inhibits the recombination of electrons and holes, thereby augmenting the photocatalytic activity. The optimized 40% BGA harvests the highest removal rate of 93.3% for 20 mg⋅L−1 oxytetracycline (OTC), which is ca. 1.43 folds higher than that of the pure BiOCl. Holes has been proved to play a dominate role in the OTC degradation. Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity test shows that the biotoxicity of OTC toward Escherichia coli DH5a is largely eliminated after 40% BGA treatment. In addition, the 40% BGA presents superior stability and recyclability after 4 cycles. It is anticipated that the BGA has great potential in actual wastewater treatment.