Oxygen‐Vacancy Engineering and Carbon Integration Boost Charge Dynamics in Bi ₂ WO ₆ for Rapid Ciprofloxacin Photodegradation

The persistent occurrence of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in aquatic environments poses significant ecological and health concerns, necessitating efficient visible‐light‐driven photocatalysts for degrading refractory antibiotics. Herein, oxygen‐vacancy‐rich Bi 2 WO 6 nanoflowers integrated with coconut‐shell‐derived carbon (OVs‐BWO‐C) were rationally constructed via a one‐step hydrothermal strategy that simultaneously couples defect engineering with in situ biomass‐carbon hybridization. Oxygen vacancies (OVs) introduce mid‐gap states and increase the Urbach energy, narrowing the bandgap and creating electron‐trapping sites that suppress charge recombination. Simultaneously, the conductive carbon network enhances interfacial charge transfer, promotes electron delocalization, and increases surface adsorption capacity, collectively accelerating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Comprehensive spectroscopic analyses (XPS, EPR) verify OVs enrichment and strong electronic interaction between Bi 2 WO 6 and carbon. The optimized OVs‐BWO‐1.0C (1 wt.% C) exhibits a rate constant of 5.4 × 10 − 2 min − 1 , approximately twofold higher than that pristine Bi 2 WO 6 , achieving nearly complete CIP degradation within 90 min under visible‐light irradiation. Mechanistic investigations reveal that •O 2 − , h + , and 1 O 2 synergistically govern the degradation pathway. The catalyst maintains structural robustness and catalytic stability over multiple cycles. This work provides a scalable platform for defect‐carbon synergistic modulation of charge dynamics in antibiotic wastewater remediation.