Issue 29, 2024

Zinc-doped C4N3/BiOBr S-scheme heterostructured hollow spheres for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water is of great significance to the sustainable development of the environment, but encounters limited efficiency when a single compound is used. Thus, there have been enormous efforts to find novel photocatalytic heterostructured composites with high performance. In this work, a novel S-scheme heterostructure is constructed with BiOBr and Zn2+ doped C4N3 (Zn–C4N3) by a solvothermal method for efficient photodegradation of tetracycline (TC), a residual antibiotic difficult to be removed from the aquatic environment. Thanks to Zn2+-doping induced improvement in chemical affinity between Zn–C4N3 and BiOBr, well-formed Zn–C4N3/BiOBr heterostructured hollow spheres are formed. This structure can efficiently suppress fast recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs to enhance the photocatalytic activity of BiOBr dramatically. At a room temperature of 25 °C and neutral pH 7, the catalyst can degrade a significant portion of TC pollutants within 30 min under visible light. Also, the Zn–C4N3/BiOBr heterostructure displays good stability after recycling experiments. Free radical capture experiments and ESR tests show that ˙O2 is the main active substance for photocatalytic degradation of TC. This study provides new insights for constructing heterostructures with an intimate interface between the two phases for photocatalytic applications.

Graphical abstract: Zinc-doped C4N3/BiOBr S-scheme heterostructured hollow spheres for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Mrt. 2024
Accepted
23 Jun. 2024
First published
25 Jun. 2024

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024,26, 19658-19672

Zinc-doped C4N3/BiOBr S-scheme heterostructured hollow spheres for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Y. Liu, G. Luo, Y. Liu, Z. Xu, H. Shen, Y. Sheng, Y. Zhu, S. Wu, L. Liu and Y. Shan, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024, 26, 19658 DOI: 10.1039/D4CP01043D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements