In-suit preparation of CdSe quantum dots/porous channel biochar for improving photocatalytic activity for degradation of tetracycline

In this paper, a simple in-suit method was used to load CdSe quantum dots (QDs) onto HTC (abbreviated as Hydrothermal biochar, HTC) to form CdSe/HTC composites. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to detect and analyze the surface valence and composition of CdSe/HTC composites. The photocatalytic degradation activity was judged by photodegrading tetracycline (TC). Compared with pure CdSe quantum dots, the best photocatalytic degradation efficiency of CdSe/HTC complex containing 15% HTC was 73%, which was attributed to the high carrier transport efficiency of HTC and the inhibition reorganization of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. More importantly, the hydrothermal biochar used in this paper was extracted from waste biomass and had the characteristics of economy, environmental protection and high utilization rate, and was in line with the basic viewpoint of sustainable use of resources. (C) 2019 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.