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• PEGylated deep eutectic solvent is used for mild synthesis of CdS. • Core-shell CdS@CeO 2 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized. • The degradation of tetracycline is as high as 91.5% by optimal photocatalyst. • CeO 2 coating helps effectively reduce the photo-corrosion. As ionic liquid analogues, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been widely used in many fields in past decades. In this work, a PEGylated deep eutectic solvent (PEGylated DES) was used for the solvothermal synthesis of CdS@CeO 2 core-shell material for the first time. The amount of CeO 2 coating has a remarkable influence on the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline. When the molar ratio of CeO 2 to CdS is 1:1, the degradation rate of tetracycline is 91.5% under visible light (λ > 420 nm), which is about 1.57 and 10.5 times as that of CdS and CeO 2 , respectively. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance is due to the fast separation of photogenerated electrons, the lower recombination of electron-hole pairs and the smaller band gap, which are demonstrated via UV–vis diffuse, photocurrent density, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photoluminescence and Mott-Schokkty measurements. This work provides a new way for the design of a core-shell metal sulfide photocatalyst that can be used in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]