Sulfur vacancies promoted highly efficient visible light photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic and phenolic pollutants over WS2/rGO heterostructure

•The sulfur vacancies WS2/rGO heterostructure was developed using a hydrothermal approach.•The WS2/rGO heterostructure exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity towards CIP and 4-NP with the kinetic rate constant of 0.113 min−1 and 0.012 min−1, respectively.•Sulfur vacancies reduced the recombination rate and enhance the photocatalytic efficiency.•The.O2– plays an important role in the photocatalytic degradation of CIP and 4-NP. Antibiotic and phenolic contaminations are severe and have become a significant source of worry in recent years. A multifunctional sulfur vacancy-induced WS2/rGO heterostructure was fabricated by a simple hydrothermal process for the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic and phenolic compounds. The sulfur-based defects can reduce bandgap energies and enhance visible light absorption. The sulfur-enriched WS2/rGO heterostructure exhibited efficient photocatalytic activity towards Ciprofloxacin (CIP) and 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) degradation under visible light illumination, and the deceptive rate constant is about 13 and 22 times higher than pristine WS2, and the removal efficiency was 16 and 13 times higher than pristine GO catalysts. The degradation efficiency and kinetic rate constants of 4-NP and CIP were 96.95 %, 92.30 %, and 0.113 min−1, 0.027 min−1, respectively. The excellent photocatalytic activity of WS2/rGO heterostructure was due to rGO acts as an electron mediator, and helps to accelerate charge separation and reduce the recombination rates. In addition, rGO improved the surface appearance of the heterostructure and provided more adsorption and reaction sites. The photocurrent measurement and time-resolved spectrum were used to investigate the photogenerated charge separation. Furthermore, the superoxide radical was the dominant reactive species of 4-NP and CIP degradation, as demonstrated by electron spin resonance and scavenger experiments. The possible degradation pathway and mechanism of 4-NP were proposed using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy.