Molecularly imprinted Ag/Ag₃VO₄/g-C₃N₄ Z-scheme photocatalysts for enhanced preferential removal of tetracycline

High selectivity and fast charge separation are two important factors for photocatalytic wastewater treatment. Herein, we prepared a molecular imprinted Ag/Ag₃VO₄/g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst (MIP) that exhibited great specific recognition ability along with excellent photocatalytic activity. The ultrathin g-C₃N₄ nanosheets with high surface are used to prepare. The Z-scheme Ag₃VO₄/g-C₃N₄ heterostructure and the surface plasmon resonance of the photoreduced Ag⁰ together contributed to the improvement of the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. In addition, MIP provides the specific recognition ability to preferentially adsorb the target pollutant. The selectivity of photocatalysis was evaluated by the degradation of oxytetracycline and tetracycline solutions. Photoluminescence and transient photocurrent measurements further prove the improved charge separation efficiency of MIP. A plausible photocatalytic reaction mechanism is proposed based on electron spin resonance measurement and the active species trapping experiments, where indicates that the main active species of this photocatalytic process are ^[rad]O₂ ⁻ and h⁺. This research provides an effective strategy for the simultaneous enhancement of selectivity and activity via molecular imprinting.