Issue 2, 2023

Significant improvement and mechanism of tetracycline degradation with the synergistic piezoelectric effect of ZnO/CuS Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts

Abstract

In the current work, a CuS nanoflower-modified ZnO nanorod heterojunction was synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method. A synergetic piezo-photocatalytic system was constructed successfully based on the piezoelectric effect of ZnO nanomaterials and the narrow bandgap of CuS, which has the advantages of both photocatalytic heterojunction and piezocatalysis. It was demonstrated that after the introduction of a polarization electric field by ultrasonication, the degradation efficiency of ZnO/CuS composites on tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) via piezo-photocatalysis reached 85.28%, which was much higher than that of a single photocatalysis (73.89%) or piezocatalysis (40.51%) system. The significant enhancement of piezo-photocatalytic activity was attributed to the generation of a polarization electric field, which provided the driving force for the electrons and holes to migrate in opposite directions at the interface of the ZnO/CuS heterostructure, enabling ordered migration and further efficient separation of charges. This work realized the synergistic coupling of piezocatalysis and photocatalysis, providing a reference for the design and development of highly efficient piezo-photocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: Significant improvement and mechanism of tetracycline degradation with the synergistic piezoelectric effect of ZnO/CuS Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 נוב 2022
Accepted
19 דצמ 2022
First published
24 דצמ 2022

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023,10, 581-594

Significant improvement and mechanism of tetracycline degradation with the synergistic piezoelectric effect of ZnO/CuS Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts

Q. Gao, L. Zhou, S. Xu, S. Dai, Q. Zhu and Y. Li, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023, 10, 581 DOI: 10.1039/D2EN01033J

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