Fabrication of 3D hierarchical CoSnO3@CoO pine needle-like array photoelectrode for enhanced photoelectrochemical properties

Abstract

A novel photoelectrode was successfully designed and constructed by depositing porous hollow CoSnO₃ nanoboxes on CoO pine needle-like arrays grown on a carbon cloth (CC) for developing Z-scheme type photocatalysts and improving photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) efficiencies. CoSnO₃ that incorporated CoO enhanced the separation efficiency of a photogenerated charger and the transport of electrons because of the p–n junction fabricated between n-CoSnO₃ and p-CoO, and heightened the light absorption in the visible region. The designed hierarchical CoSnO₃@CoO film displayed a higher photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activity for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) and chlortetracycline (CTC). The catalytic kinetics and the possible PEC degradation mechanism of the hierarchical CoSnO₃@CoO heterojunction are discussed in detail. The work demonstrated that the hierarchical CoSnO₃@CoO pine needle-like arrays exhibited excellent properties in the PCE process due to the effectiveness of structural manipulation.