Degradation of tetracycline with g-C3N4/BiVO4 modified by carbon quantum dots derived from peanut shells

g-C₃N₄/BiVO₄ modified with hydrothermal synthesis of carbon quantum dots (CQDs). The catalyst was characterized and analyzed using SEM, XRD, DRS, TPC, EIS, and M-S techniques. Under xenon lamp irradiation, the degradation rate of tetracycline by the CQDs/g-C₃N₄/BiVO₄(pCQDsCNB) reached 90.5%, 1.54 and 1.22 times that of BiVO₄ and g-C₃N₄, respectively∙O₂^-, h⁺ and ∙OH play significant roles in the photodegradation process. Utilization of photogenerated electron transfer from g-C₃N₄ conduction band to CQDs, efficient separation of photogenerated electrons in CQDs was achieved, thereby markedly augmenting the photocatalytic performance of pCQDsCNB.