Novel BiVO4/SiC/Cu2O ternary composite photocatalyst coupled with carbonized wood for simultaneous water evaporation and purification driven by solar energy

This work reported a novel BiVO 4 /SiC/Cu 2 O photocatalyst (BSC), and investigated the microstructure, elemental composition and photoelectrochemical properties of the ternary composite photocatalyst. Compared with pure BiVO 4 , BSC exhibited enhanced levofloxacin hydrochloride (LEF) degradation. The degradation rate of LEF can reach 85.83% within 100 min under the conditions of 25 mg BSC addition, LEF concentration of 10 mg/L and pH of 6.3. Furthermore, a monolithic photocatalyst (BSC@C-wood) was developed by coating BSC on one side of carbonized wood (C-wood), enabling water evaporation and purification. We collected clean water vapor and found that the SiC on C-wood can significantly enhance water purification efficiency due to its excellent photothermal ability. BSC@C-wood provides an alternative approach for the low-cost and high-efficiency treatment of wastewater.