Charge transfer in photocatalysis of direct Z-scheme g-C3N4-based ferroelectric heterojunction

Abstract

Great efforts have been made to enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C3N4. The construction of Z-scheme g-C3N4-based ferroelectric heterostructures was considered to be an effective strategy to promote rapid carrier separation. However, the mechanism of charge transfer in the synergistic effect between Z-scheme g-C3N4-based heterojunction and ferroelectric polarization has not been thoroughly studied. Herein, g-C3N4-based ferroelectric catalysts with various bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) contents have been prepared with a simple approach, and the direct Z-scheme heterojunction between BFO and g-C3N4 has been proved by experiments. Meanwhile, our study verified that the direct Z-scheme g-C3N4-based ferroelectric heterostructure plays a positive role in photocatalytic activity, and the charge transfer mechanism of this structure was discussed in detail, which provides a new strategy for improving the performance of g-C3N4-based ferroelectric catalysts.