Construction of S-Scheme BiVO4/Cu-MOF Heterojunction Photocatalyst for Efficient Methylene Blue Degradation and CO2 Reduction

Abstract

In this work, a novel S-scheme BiVO₄/Cu-MOF heterojunction photocatalyst was fabricated using a simple hydrothermal approach, with BiVO₄ nanoparticles decorating the surface of Cu-MOF octahedra. The optimal BiVO₄/Cu-MOF-2 composite (with a Cu: Bi molar ratio of 2:1) demonstrated superior photocatalytic performance, achieving CO production rates 9.20-fold and 2.49-fold enhancements relative to pristine BiVO₄ and Cu-MOF, respectively. Similarly, its rate constant for methylene blue (MB) degradation was 1.43-fold and 3.09-fold improvements over BiVO₄ and Cu-MOF, respectively. This significant enhancement arises from the S-scheme charge transfer pathway, which effectively separates photogenerated electron-hole pairs and suppresses their recombination. The work underscores the great potential of this composite in environmental remediation applications such as carbon recycling and wastewater treatment, offering significant potential for advancing sustainable environmental solutions.