RGO‐ZnSe Photocatalyst towards Solar‐Light‐Assisted Degradation of Tetracycline Antibiotic Water Pollutant

Abstract It is well known that – mainly, three processes govern the photocatalytic activity – the first one being the exciton formation after absorption of light, the second one is the charge separation and migration and the third one is the surface redox potential. In this study, an effective charge transfer and migration of photo generated electrons and holes from Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) to Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) have been reported. Further, these photocatalysts are evaluated by tetracycline (TC) photodegradation under simulated solar light irradiation. The ZnSe decorated RGO photocatalysts have been successfully synthesized using a one‐step solvothermal reaction. X‐ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy are used to characterize the RGO‐ZnSe composite. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and scavenger experiments are used to explore the photocatalysis mechanism of the water pollutant antibiotic TC. The main active species in TC photodegradation was found to be hole (h + ). Furthermore, this work initiated a promising and effective photocatalyst, the RGO–ZnSe nanocomposites. Hence these nanocomposites could be potentially used for the degradation of organic pollutants.