Construction of Z-scheme BiVO4/CNTs/Cu2O ternary heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity for round-the-clock antibacterial application

The construction of heterojunctions is a productive strategy in getting the separation and migration of photoinduced carriers. In this work, Z-scheme BiVO₄/CNTs/Cu₂O (BCC) system was initially constructed utilizing a straightforward wet chemical synthesis process for antibacterial purposes, and a desirable CNTs proportion was discussed. The results exposed that the BCC-3 photocatalyst with a CNTs mass proportion of 3 % had the greatest photocatalytic antibacterial property. This might be because the Z-scheme heterojunction sustains the high redox potential of photoinduced carriers, enabling the production of more active substances for antibacterial purposes. Additionally, the as-prepared composites exhibited round-the-clock antibacterial activity in the dark state and the absence of an external light source due to the presence of a small amount of Cu₂O.