Construction of a novel multidimensional 1D/2D heterojunction FeVO4/In2S3 with significantly reinforced charge transport and excellent photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Aiming at developing a highly efficient photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of emerging contaminants, a novel 1D/2D heterojunction FeVO4/In2S3 was constructed by the in-situ growing of the small-sized In2S3 nanosheets on the rod-shaped FeVO4. The fabricated FeVO4/In2S3 was in detail characterized. The photodegradation of tetracycline (TC) in water was carried out for the evaluation of the photocatalytic performance of FeVO4/In2S3. Additionally, the photoinduced charge transfer mode at the interface of FeVO4/In2S3 was discussed. The prepared FeVO4/In2S3 exhibits exceptional photocatalytic capability for the elimination of TC. The optimum composite photocatalyst 20%FVO/IS displays the greatest activity, achieving a removal efficiency of 90 % toward TC in water. The photodegradation rate constant of TC by 20%FVO/IS is 0.01362 min−1, which is 3.98 and 2.87 folds that by FeVO4 and In2S3, individually. The significantly reinforced activity of FeVO4/In2S3 is attributed to the improved light-harvesting ability in the visible region and the considerably accelerated separation and transfer of the photo-excited carriers resulting from the formation of 1D/2D multidimensional heterostructure between FeVO4 and In2S3. Additionally, FeVO4/In2S3 displayed outstanding stability. Its photocatalytic activity decreased by only 6 % after four cycles of reuse. The predominant reactive species for TC degradation is superoxide radical, followed by holes. Furthermore, the transport pathway of the photoexcited charge carriers in FeVO4/In2S3 complies with the Type-II interfacial charge transfer mode. The prepared FeVO4/In2S3 is a potential photocatalytic material for the photodegradation of the contaminants in water environment.