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Designing photocatalysts with high light utilization and efficient photogenerated carrier separation for pollutant degradation is one of the important topics for sustainable development. In this study, hierarchical core–shell material α-Fe2O3@ZnIn2S4 with a step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction is synthesized by in situ growth technique, and MXene Ti3C2 quantum dots (QDs) are introduced to construct a double-heterojunction tandem mechanism. The photodegradation efficiency of α-Fe2O3@ZnIn2S4/Ti3C2 QDs to bisphenol A is 96.1% and its reaction rate constant attained 0.02595 min−1, which is 12.3 times that of pure α-Fe2O3. Meanwhile, a series of characterizations analyze the reasons for the enhanced photocatalytic activity, and the charge transport path of the S-scheme heterojunction/Schottky junction tandem is investigated. The construction of the S-scheme heterojunction enables the photo-generated electrons of α-Fe2O3 and the holes of ZnIn2S4 to transfer and combine under the action of the reverse built-in electric field. Due to the metallic conductivity of Ti3C2 QDs, the photogenerated electrons of ZnIn2S4 are further transferred to Ti3C2 QDs to form a Schottky junction, which in turn forms a double-heterojunction tandem mechanism, showing a remarkable charge separation efficiency. This work provides a new opinion for the construction of tandem double heterojunctions to degrade harmful pollutants.


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S-scheme heterojunction/Schottky junction tandem synergistic effect promotes visible-light-driven catalytic activity

Show Author's information Shuai Wang1,3Xin Du3Changhao Yao3Yifeng Cai3Huiyuan Ma1( )Baojiang Jiang4( )Jun Ma1,2( )
School of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150040, China
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
Department of Food and Environment Engineering, East University of Heilongjiang, Harbin 150066, China
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China

Abstract

Designing photocatalysts with high light utilization and efficient photogenerated carrier separation for pollutant degradation is one of the important topics for sustainable development. In this study, hierarchical core–shell material α-Fe2O3@ZnIn2S4 with a step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction is synthesized by in situ growth technique, and MXene Ti3C2 quantum dots (QDs) are introduced to construct a double-heterojunction tandem mechanism. The photodegradation efficiency of α-Fe2O3@ZnIn2S4/Ti3C2 QDs to bisphenol A is 96.1% and its reaction rate constant attained 0.02595 min−1, which is 12.3 times that of pure α-Fe2O3. Meanwhile, a series of characterizations analyze the reasons for the enhanced photocatalytic activity, and the charge transport path of the S-scheme heterojunction/Schottky junction tandem is investigated. The construction of the S-scheme heterojunction enables the photo-generated electrons of α-Fe2O3 and the holes of ZnIn2S4 to transfer and combine under the action of the reverse built-in electric field. Due to the metallic conductivity of Ti3C2 QDs, the photogenerated electrons of ZnIn2S4 are further transferred to Ti3C2 QDs to form a Schottky junction, which in turn forms a double-heterojunction tandem mechanism, showing a remarkable charge separation efficiency. This work provides a new opinion for the construction of tandem double heterojunctions to degrade harmful pollutants.

Keywords: α-Fe2O3, Schottky junction, step-scheme heterojunction, bisphenol A, ZnIn2S4, MXene Ti3C2 quantum dots (QDs)

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 14 July 2022
Revised: 15 August 2022
Accepted: 24 August 2022
Published: 21 October 2022
Issue date: February 2023

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© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21771061), and Outstanding Youth Fund of Heilongjiang Province (No. JQ 2020B002).

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