Broad-spectrum photocatalytic tetracycline degradation performance of an in-situ plasmonic Bi nanoparticle doped 0D/2D Z scheme heterostructure

Abstract

Fabrication of broad-spectrum (UV–vis-NIR) active photocatalysts for effectively harnessing the abundant NIR light in the solar spectrum is the biggest challenge. Herein, the facile one-pot solid-state synthesis of an in-situ plasmonic bismuth-doped 0D/2D Z scheme heterostructure (BS) by loading Bi2O3 quantum dots (B) on 2D SnO2 nanosheets (S) is reported. The successful heterostructure fabrication was confirmed using various characterization techniques. The composites demonstrated excellent broad-spectrum photocatalytic degradation efficacy toward TC. When irradiated with an 18 W LED, the 2BS composite exhibited a 35.1 and 2.03-fold increased TC degradation rate co-efficient compared to S and B, respectively. Further, the 2BS composite showed a 5.5 times higher degradation rate constant than B after NIR light irradiation. Moreover, the composite displayed commendable stability after a four-cycle recycling experiment. At last, a plausible charge transfer mechanism under LED and NIR light illumination has been proposed following the results of the radical trapping experiment.