Facile Synthesis of Visible Light-Induced g-C3N4/Rectorite Composite for Efficient Photodegradation of Ciprofloxacin

A novel kind of g-C3N4/rectorite composite with high visible-light photoactivity was developed via a mild and cost effective two-step process. Ciprofloxacin (CIP), a typical antibiotic, was applied to evaluate the photoactivity of the received catalysts. Furthermore, the by-products of CIP photodegradation were analyzed and the possible degradation pathways were also discussed. Compared with bare photocatalysts, the received composite possessed well reusability and higher photoactivity towards CIP. According to the characterization analysis results, layered g-C3N4 was successfully immobilized on layered rectorite, which could not only promote its adsorption capacity but also provide more reactive sites for CIP adsorption and photodegradation. Compared with bare g-C3N4, the photoactivity of the prepared composite was significantly enhanced. The enhancement should be mainly due to the lower recombination rate of photogenerated carriers and the improved adsorption capacity toward CIP. This study demonstrated that the obtained g-C3N4/rectorite composite should be a promising alternative material in wastewater treatment.