Abstract To broaden the response range of visible light, degrade the recombination rate of photogenerated carriers and promote photocatalytic performance for organic pollutants, building Z-scheme heterojunction with higher redox potentials… Click to show full abstract
Abstract To broaden the response range of visible light, degrade the recombination rate of photogenerated carriers and promote photocatalytic performance for organic pollutants, building Z-scheme heterojunction with higher redox potentials by suitable semiconductor materials is an effective method. In the present work, a novel and all-solid Z-scheme heterojunction of In2O3/Bi4O7 was synthesized and used for photocatalytic degradation of doxycycline hydrochloride. When the mass ratio Bi4O7 : In2O3 is 20%, 92.1% of doxycycline hydrochloride was photodegraded within 2 h under visible light. The prepared Z-scheme heterojunction of In2O3/Bi4O7 has a high rate constant of 0.0197. •O2- radicals and •OH radicals play a significant role in the photodegradation. Moreover, the transfer pathway of photogenerated carriers was defined through analysing band gap structure and Fermi levels of In2O3 and Bi4O7 with the DFT theory. The results of experiments prove that the as-synthesized Z-scheme heterojunction In2O3/Bi4O7 has high chemical stability and recycling ability. And toxicity analysis proves that the heterojunction In2O3/Bi4O7 is a green photocatalyst in water treatment application.
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.