A novel Ag/Bi/Bi2O2CO3 photocatalyst effectively removes antibiotic-resistant bacteria and tetracycline from water under visible light irradiation

Currently, achieving dual applications of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 -based photocatalysts in photocatalytic degradation and sterilization under visible-light conditions is challenging. In this study, a novel Ag/Bi/Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 visible-light photocatalyst with bimetallic doping and rich oxygen vacancies was successfully synthesized using a one-pot hydrothermal crystallization method. The existence of oxygen vacancies was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis. The experimental results showed that Ag/Bi/Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 killed ∼100% (log 7) of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (AR- E. coli ) within 60 min and degraded 83.81% of tetracycline (TC) within 180 min under visible light irradiation. Moreover, Ag/Bi/Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 can still remove 61.07% of TC in water after 5 cycles, showing excellent photocatalytic cycle stability and reusability. The possible degradation pathway of TC was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. It was found that the main active substances in the photocatalytic disinfection of AR- E. coli were 1 O 2 , h + , and ·OH, while 1 O 2 was the dominant active species in the photocatalytic degradation of TC. This study presents a promising Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 -based visible light photocatalyst for treating both antibiotics (TC) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (AR- E. coli ) in water.