Enhanced photoelectrochemical degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride with FeOOH and Au nanoparticles decorated WO3

Abstract The abuse of antibiotic drugs causes residues in natural water, damaging ecosystems and affecting human health. Hydroxyl radical ( OH) species are recognized as promising strategy for deep purification of water with high efficiency, and environmentally friendly. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) degradation is a potential clean technique to achieve the mass production of OH for effective pollutant treatment. Here, FeOOH and plasmonic Au decorated WO3 was constructed to produce enhanced OH with sustainable solar energy for robust tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) degradation. The deep valence band of WO3 provides suitable potential for OH generation. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Au broadens the light-harvesting scale and forms Schottky-junction for facilitating charge separation. FeOOH effectively extracts holes and accelerates the catalytic kinetics for mass production of active OH. Experiments of XPS, TEM, UPS, etc. confirmed the synergistic effect of the constructed WO3/Au/FeOOH. Thus, the obtained nanostructures exhibit best PEC TC-HCl removal rate (99% within 50 min) to date, providing promising method for sustainable environmental protection.