Construction of Porous BiPO4/BiOBr@COFs Heterojunction With Adsorption–Photocatalytic Degradation of Ethylene

Abstract

Ethylene, a natural plant hormone, accelerates the aging and decay of fruits and vegetables, leading to quality deterioration and reduced shelf life during maturation. In this work, a porous BiPO₄/BiOBr@COFs (BPB@COFs) heterojunction has been synthesized via the solvothermal method and surface deposition method and utilized in photocatalysis for ethylene degradation under visible light irradiation. The BPB@COFs composites demonstrate greater efficacy in ethylene degradation performance. With light irradiation, the K′ values of ethylene degradation rate constant from small to large are as follows: COFs (2.24 E⁻⁴), BiPO₄ (2.91 E⁻⁴), BiOBr (4.28 E⁻⁴), BPB (4.68 E⁻⁴), and BPB@COFs (6.18 E⁻⁴). In addition, their properties were characterized by various microscopic, X-ray, and spectroscopic analytical techniques, as well as optical and photoelectrochemical analyses. Due to the COF's porous structure, the specific surface area of BPB@COFs was seven times that of BPB, which took advantage of ethylene adsorption. Dark adsorption experiments show that BPB@COFs can adsorb three times as much as BPB@COFs because of the way COFs are structured. The fascinating photocatalytic performance is attributed to the interfacial interaction between COFs and BPB, which enhanced the transfer of photogenerated electrons and charge carriers' separation. Consequently, this study introduces a sustainable approach for addressing emerging ethylene, which can be utilized in the field of photocatalysis for practical applications.