A stable and reusable Z-scheme ZnO/Ag2CO3 photocatalyst for efficient degradation of emerging water pollutants

IF 5.7 3区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Materials Research Bulletin Pub Date : 2025-07-17 DOI:10.1016/j.materresbull.2025.113663

Ping Huang , Wei Feng , Wenhui Li , Yuquan Zhuo , Ziwen Yang , Shuo Yang , Donglai Han

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Abstract

We report ZnO/Ag₂CO₃ (Z/AC) p–n heterojunctions synthesized via a facile two-step method to enable Z-scheme charge transfer for enhanced photocatalysis performance. Integrated SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS and BET analyses show that ∼5 µm wurtzite-ZnO nanospindles (NSs) are uniformly decorated with 50–200 nm monoclinic-Ag₂CO₃ nanoparticles (NPs), forming a rough, mesoporous heterojunction whose specific surface area increases from 1.82 to 13.78 m² g⁻¹. This microarchitecture narrows the optical band-gap from 3.09 to 2.88 eV, suppresses photoluminescence by ∼65.1 %, triples the transient photocurrent, and delivers markedly enhanced photocatalytic activity. The Z/AC-4 heterojunction demonstrates the highest photocatalytic activity, achieving 97.4 % for tetracycline (TC). Scavenger experiments reveal hydroxyl radicals (·OH), holes (h⁺) and superoxide radicals (·O₂^⁻) as key contributors, with ·OH dominant; Notably, the Z/AC-4 photocatalyst maintains 73.4 % TC degradation efficiency after five cycles, demonstrating excellent structural stability and recyclability. This work provides mechanistic insight into Z-scheme-driven photocatalysis.

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一种稳定且可重复使用的Z-scheme ZnO/Ag2CO3光催化剂，用于高效降解新出现的水污染物

我们报道了通过简单的两步法合成ZnO/Ag2CO3 (Z/AC) p-n异质结，以实现Z-scheme电荷转移以增强光催化性能。SEM， TEM， XRD, FT-IR， XPS和BET分析表明，~ 5µm的纤锌矿氧化锌纳米纺锤（NSs）被50-200 nm的单斜ag2co3纳米颗粒（NPs）均匀修饰，形成一个粗糙的介孔异质结，其比表面积从1.82增加到13.78 m2 g⁻¹。这种微结构将光学带隙从3.09缩小到2.88 eV，抑制了约65.1%的光致发光，使瞬态光电流增加了三倍，并显著增强了光催化活性。Z/AC-4异质结对四环素（TC）的光催化活性最高，达到97.4%。清道夫实验显示，羟基自由基（·OH）、空穴（h⁺）和超氧自由基（·O2⁻）是主要贡献者，其中·OH占优势；值得注意的是，经过5次循环后，Z/AC-4光催化剂的TC降解效率保持在73.4%，具有良好的结构稳定性和可回收性。这项工作为z -图式驱动的光催化提供了机理见解。

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来源期刊

Materials Research Bulletin 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

9.80

自引率

5.60%

发文量

372

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： Materials Research Bulletin is an international journal reporting high-impact research on processing-structure-property relationships in functional materials and nanomaterials with interesting electronic, magnetic, optical, thermal, mechanical or catalytic properties. Papers purely on thermodynamics or theoretical calculations (e.g., density functional theory) do not fall within the scope of the journal unless they also demonstrate a clear link to physical properties. Topics covered include functional materials (e.g., dielectrics, pyroelectrics, piezoelectrics, ferroelectrics, relaxors, thermoelectrics, etc.); electrochemistry and solid-state ionics (e.g., photovoltaics, batteries, sensors, and fuel cells); nanomaterials, graphene, and nanocomposites; luminescence and photocatalysis; crystal-structure and defect-structure analysis; novel electronics; non-crystalline solids; flexible electronics; protein-material interactions; and polymeric ion-exchange membranes.