Due to the rapid development of the livestock industry, particularly due to residual pharmaceutical

antibiotics, environmental populations have been negatively affected. Herein, we report a ZnO/melamine-functionalized

carboxylic-rich graphene oxide (ZFG) photocatalyst for visible light-driven photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

hydrochloride in aqueous solutions. The properties of the photocatalysts were evaluated by XRD, FTIR, XPS, Fe-SEM,

HR-TEM, TGA, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, zeta potential, and electrochemical measurements. The

photocatalytic activity was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. The photocatalytic properties of

the ZFG photocatalyst evaluated against the tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) antibiotic under visible light irradiation

showed superior photodegradation of 96.27% within 60 min at an initial pH of 11. The enhancement of photocatalytic

degradation was due to the introduction of functionalized graphene, which increases the light-harvesting capability and

molecular adsorption capability in addition to minimizing the recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers due

to its role as an electron acceptor and mediator.

ZnO, Amine functionalized graphene, Photodegradation, Tetracycline, HPLC

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