Insights into interfacial S-scheme/bulk type II dual charge transfer mechanism enabling silver oxide/N-rich carbon nitride anti-photocorrosion and enhanced photoactivity

Abstract

Infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, continue to pose a significant threat to global public health and economics. This study establishes a one-of-a-kind heterojunction catalyst with a built-in electric field and enhanced structural defects, allowing for the formation of interfacial S-scheme and bulk type-II dual charge transfer channels, as demonstrated by extensive experimental investigation and density functional theory calculations. This unique property greatly enhances the photogenerated electron/hole pair separation and transfer, producing more active species in Ag2O/C3N5 for water disinfection, which inactivation efficiency of E. coli is around 7.0 folds for pure C3N5 and 1.5 folds for Ag2O. The spatial separation of photogenerated e-/h+ pairs and the tendency of O2/H2O molecules to be reduced or oxidized at the interface enable excellent anti-photocorrosion. Exceptional disinfection of real lake and river water, along with exceptional stability and reusability, demonstrate the practical application potential. This work is pivotal for the theoretical development of sophisticated photocatalytic systems.