Construction of Direct Z‐Scheme BiVO 4 /g‐C 3 N 5 Heterostructure for Efficient Degradation of Te
Vellaichamy Balakumar, Karunamoorthy Saravanakumar, Lalitha Gnanasekaran, Mani Durai, Ranjith Kumar Dharman, Dharani Shanmugapriya, Jeong‐Hoon SaABSTRACT
In this study, a BiVO 4 /g‐C 3 N 5 Z‐scheme catalyst was synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. The BiVO 4 /g‐C 3 N 5 composite's structure, morphology, and optical properties were extensively analyzed, and its ability to degrade tetracycline (TC) through photocatalysis was tested. Various factors, including the weight of the catalyst, TC concentration, and the presence of interference substances, were investigated. The remarkable photocatalytic performance of optimized BiVO 4 /g‐C 3 N 5 (2) can be attributed to the synergistic effects and the Z‐scheme heterojunction, which widen the range of visible wavelength light absorption and improve the electron transfer and charge carrier separation among the photocatalysts. Photoluminescence, photocurrent, and impedance analysis further supported these findings. The results also revealed that the percentage of g‐C 3 N 5 greatly influences the photocatalytic activity of the BiVO 4 /g‐C 3 N 5 catalyst. Radical trapping experiments confirmed the dominant reactive species involved in photocatalytic degradation of TC. The possible degradation mechanism and pathways were investigated. Additionally, the reusability and stability of the BiVO 4 /g‐C 3 N 5 (2) composite was carefully assessed and discussed. This research presents an innovative method for synthesizing photocatalysts that take advantage of Z‐scheme heterojunctions for emerging contamination elimination.