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Photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and synchronous degradation of organic pollutants by pg-C3N4/β-FeOOH S-scheme heterojunction

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Abstract

Crafting photoelectrocatalytic materials with robust oxidation-reduction properties for simultaneous hydrogen evolution and pollutant degradation poses a formidable challenge. In this study, a pg-C3N4/β-FeOOH S-scheme heterostructure with a special energy band structure was developed by anchoring porous pg-C3N4 on needle shaped β-FeOOH. Functioning as a hole extraction layer, needle-leaf-like β-FeOOH can facilitate efficient hole migration and enhance charge transport. Remarkably, the optimized 0.2-pg-C3N4/β-FeOOH could degrade 78% of ofloxacin (OFLO) in 90 min. The organic pollutants could absorb a large number of holes, which prompted a greater proportion of photogenerated electrons to actively participate in the hydrogen evolution reaction at the cathode. Consequently, the hydrogen production of 0.2-pg-C3N4/β-FeOOH reached 1452.88 µmol cm−2 h−1, exhibiting a notable increase of 61.81–165.12 µmol cm−2 h−1 compared with that in the absence of pollutants. Experimental and theoretical calculation results underscore that this investigation is grounded in a distinctive electron and hole dual channel transfer mechanism. These findings offer novel insights for the future development of S-scheme heterojunction photoelectrocatalytic materials capable of concurrently degrading pollutants and promoting hydrogen evolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, 330063, China

    XiBao Li, Tao Han, YiDan Luo, JunTong Huang & Zhi Chen

  2. National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metal Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, 330063, China

    XiBao Li, Yu Xie & Fang Deng

  3. Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, National Engineering Research Center for Marine Aquaculture, Marine Science and Technology College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, 316022, China

    YingTang Zhou

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  1. XiBao Li
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  2. Tao Han
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  3. YingTang Zhou
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  4. Yu Xie
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  5. YiDan Luo
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  8. Fang Deng
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Correspondence to YingTang Zhou, Yu Xie or Fang Deng.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 22262024, 22272070, and 52272063), Jiangxi Province Academic and Technical Leader of Major Disciplines (Grant No. 20232BCJ22008), Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (Grant No. 20232ACB204007), Double Thousand Talent Plan of Jiangxi Province, State Key Laboratory of High-efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering (Grant No. 2022-K31), and the Zhejiang Province Key Research and Development Project (Grant No. 2023 C01191).

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11431_2023_2604_MOESM1_ESM.doc

Photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and synchronous degradation of organic pollutants by pg-C3N4/β-FeOOH S-scheme heterojunction

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Li, X., Han, T., Zhou, Y. et al. Photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and synchronous degradation of organic pollutants by pg-C3N4/β-FeOOH S-scheme heterojunction. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 67, 1238–1252 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2604-x

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