Mapping Photogenerated Electron–Hole Behavior of Graphene Oxide: Insight into a New Mechanism of Photosensitive Pollutant Degradation

The use of graphene oxide (GO) photogenerated electron–hole (e–h+) pairs to degrade pollutants is a novel green method for wastewater treatment. However, the interaction between photosensitive pollutants and a GO–light system remains unclear. In this work, the mechanism of degradation of photosensitive pollutant tetracycline (TC) promoted by GO photogenerated e–h+ pairs was studied. Our studies encompassed the determination of TC removal kinetics, analysis of active substances for TC degradation, identification of degradation products, and computational modeling. Clear evidence shows that a new reaction mechanism of enhanced adsorption and induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was involved. This mechanism was conducive to significantly enhanced TC removal. Kinetic studies showed a first-order behavior that can be well described by the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. Radical scavenging experiments confirmed that 1O2, •O2−, and holes (h+) were the main active substances for TC degradation. Electron spin resonance analysis indicated that photoexcited TC molecules may transfer electrons to the conduction band of GO to induce the generation of additional ROS. A major transformation product (m/z 459) during TC degradation was identified with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Density functional theory calculation indicated a stronger adsorption between TC and GO under photoirradiation. This mechanism of photo-enhanced adsorption and synergistic induced generation of ROS provides a new strategy for the removal of emerging pollutants in water. Overall, the new mechanism revealed in this work expands the knowledge of applying GO to wastewater treatment and is of great reference value for research in this field.