An S‐Scheme AgIn₅S₈/Bi₂MoO₆ Heterojunction for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Hydrochloride Tetracycline

Abstract Over the past few decades, the overuse of antibiotics has raised concerns about drinking water and potential health risks, especially the hydrochloride tetracycline (TC‐HCl). Therefore, it is crucial to develop a simple, low‐cost and high‐efficiency photocatalyst for the degradation of the pollutant. A novel photocatalyst with an S‐scheme heterojunction structure of AgIn₅S₈ and Bi₂MoO₆ was synthesized by using a solvothermal method. The heterojunction photocatalyst obtained demonstrates superior photocatalytic degradation activity for hydrochloride tetracycline (TC‐HCl) under visible light irradiation. It exhibits higher photocatalytic degradation performance than pure AgIn₅S₈ and Bi₂MoO₆ under the same conditions. The heterojunction with 3 % AgIn₅S₈ exhibited the highest degradation efficiency of 63.65 % within 40 minutes. Furthermore, the degradation rate is 6.21 times higher than that of AgIn₅S₈ and 2.18 times higher than that of Bi₂MoO₆. The improved photocatalytic activity is primarily attributed to the enhanced light absorption and the high rate of carrier separation resulting from S‐scheme heterojunctions.