Abstract
The effective separation and harnessing of photoinduced charge carriers in photocatalysis are significant challenges. The present study aims to overcome this obstacle by developing a Z-scheme heterojunction between a p-type CuBi2O4 (CBO) and a n-type CdWO4 (CWO) through a straightforward heat treatment method. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results revealed the successful formation of heterostructures. The photocatalytic efficiency of the materials was assessed by selecting an anionic methyl orange (MO) and cationic Rhodamine-B (Rh–B) dyes under visible light irradiation. Among all the materials, 85 wt% CBO + 15 wt% CWO (CBO/CWO-15) heterostructure exhibited superior photocatalytic activity (90 %) corresponding to 90 and 45 times higher than the pristine CBO and CWO, respectively. The positively charged photocatalyst surface attracts a greater number of MO dye molecules than Rh–B, thereby enhancing the degradation of MO over Rh–B. The scavenger results confirmed the involvement of hydroxy (OH•) and superoxide (O2−•) radicals in the degradation of MO. The rate constant of CBO/CWO-15 (0.01061 min−1) was 64 and 39 times higher than those of CBO (0.00016 min−1) and CWO (0.00027 min−1), respectively. The photoluminescence (PL) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses substantiated the improved charge separation in the CBO/CWO-15 composite, establishing the Z-scheme mechanism. Cycling experiments over four cycles demonstrated consistent stability of the CBO/CWO-15 composite. The study provides an in-detail plausible mechanism of MO degradation. This type of Z-scheme composite material has potential applications in environmental remediation for the effective removal of organic pollutants and antibiotics from wastewater.
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