Polyoxometalate anchored zinc oxide nanocomposite as a highly effective photocatalyst and bactericide for wastewater decontamination

•A novel ZnO@PDA/Cu-POMs heterojunction was successfully synthesized.•The nanocomposite shows excellent bactericidal property.•The nanocomposite exhibits efficient photocatalytic removal ability for tetracycline.•The possible photocatalytic mechanism and degradation pathway were proposed.