MOF-derived N-doped ZnO carbon skeleton@hierarchical Bi2MoO6 S-scheme heterojunction for photodegradation of SMX: Mechanism, pathways and DFT calculation

Semiconductor photocatalytic degradation of pollutants is considered to be one of the promising sustainable energy routes. Nevertheless, it is challenging for photocatalysts to have excellent visible light absorption and suppress photo-generated electron-hole recombination at the same time. Here, we prepared nitrogen-doped ZnO carbon skeleton by directly calcining the metal-organic framework. Then hierarchical Bi2MoO6 nanosheets are grown in situ on its surface to synthesize S-scheme heterojunction. This special 3D layered and oxygen vacancies work together to make photo-generated electrons and holes easier to separate and migrate. Therefore, the pseudo-first-order kinetic constant of N-doped ZnO carbon skeleton@Bi2MoO6 degradation of sulfamethoxazole reaches 0.022 min(-1), which is almost 10 times that of ZIF-8 derived ZnO and 27.5 times Bi2MoO6 under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, the mechanism of driving charge transfer of S-scheme heterojunction, and the photocatalytic degradation pathway of sulfamethoxazole are also analyzed. This work will provide a new way to construct S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst to degrade antibiotic pollutants.

Automated summary

The study successfully prepared nitrogen-doped ZnO carbon skeleton@Bi2MoO6 for photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole, achieving enhanced separation and migration of photo-generated electrons and holes through the construction of a special 3D layered structure and oxygen vacancies.