A novel S-scheme heterojunction based on BiPO4/CdPSe3 for effective photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

As a sustainable technology that can be utilized for degrading organic pollutants, photocatalysis becomes more and more important in the environment pollution control. One crucial factor that influences the degradation process is the design of photocatalyst. In this study, we utilized a simple hydrothermal method, liquid exfoliation and mechanical mixture to synthesize a novel S-scheme heterojunction based on BiPO 4 /CdPSe 3 . It was found that the optimal molar ratio BiPO 4 : CdPSe 3 = 2: 1 (noted as B 2 C) gave rise to an efficient removal of rhodamine B up to 97.5 % after 30 min dark reaction and 60 min light exposure. This composite also possesses the degradation capacity for other antibiotics and inorganic pollutant. The capture experiments showed that superoxide radicals played the dominant role in the degradation process. Besides, hydroxyl radicals and holes were also important active species. The high photocatalytic degradation performance of B 2 C could be attributed to the increased specific surface area with more active sites, enhanced light absorption in the visible region, and, more importantly, the special S-scheme heterostructure for high photogenerated charge carrier separation, synergistically improved the photocatalyst degradation efficiency. This work provides a new perspective for designing high-efficient photocatalysts applicable in multiple organic and inorganic pollutants degradation.