In-situ synthesis of 0D/1D CeO2/Zn0.4Cd0.6S S-scheme heterostructures for boosting photocatalytic remove of antibiotic and chromium

The development of green and efficient photocatalytic materials for the treatment of medical and industrial wastewater has become a current research focus. In this work, the CeO2/Zn0.4Cd0.6S heterojunction with a special 0D/1D morphology was synthesized by a soft chemistry method. The successful construction of the heterojunction was verified by the binding energy migration of XPS and TEM. The photocatalytic activities were determined by photoreduction of hexavalent chromium ions (CrVI) and photodegradation of tetracycline hy-drochloride (TC). The experimental results showed that the loading of CeO2 significantly improves the photo -catalytic performance of Zn0.4Cd0.6S, and the loading of 10 wt% CeO2 has the best photocatalytic activity and structural stability. The S-scheme electron transport mechanism was particularly investigated through active species trapping experiments. This work provides an effective idea for the design of highly stable metal sulfide photocatalysts.

Automated summary

The CeO2/Zn0.4Cd0.6S heterojunction with a unique 0D/1D morphology was successfully synthesized using a soft chemistry method, which was confirmed by XPS and TEM. Photoreduction of hexavalent chromium ions (CrVI) and photodegradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) were used to evaluate the photocatalytic activities. The results showed that the introduction of CeO2 significantly enhances the photocatalytic performance of Zn0.4Cd0.6S, and the loading of 10 wt% CeO2 exhibits the best photocatalytic activity and structural stability. The S-scheme electron transport mechanism was investigated through active species trapping experiments, providing an effective idea for the design of highly stable metal sulfide photocatalysts.