Construction of Embedded Sulfur-Doped g-C3N4/BiOBr S-Scheme Heterojunction for Highly Efficient Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Compound Rhodamine B

Constructing S-scheme heterojunction catalysts is a key challenge in visible-light catalysed degradation of organic pollutants. Most heterojunction materials are reported to face significant obstacles in the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs owing to differences in the material size and energy barriers. In this study, sulfur-doped g-C3N4 oxidative-type semiconductor materials are synthesized and then coupled with BiOBr reductive-type semiconductor to form S-g-C3N4/BiOBr S-scheme heterojunction. A strong and efficient internal electric field is established between the two materials, facilitating the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Notably, in situ XPS proved that after visible light irradiation, Bi3+ is converted into Bi(3+alpha)+, and a large number of photogenerated holes are produced on the surface of BiOBr, which oxidized and activated H2O into center dot OH. center dot OH cooperated with center dot O-2(-) and O-1(2) to attack Rhodamine B (RhB) molecules to achieve deep oxidation mineralization. The composite material is designed with a LUMO energy level higher than that of RhB, promoting the sensitization of RhB by injecting photogenerated electrons into the heterojunction, thereby enhancing the photocatalytic performance to 22.44 times that of pure g-C3N4. This study provides a new perspective on the efficient degradation of organic molecules using visible light catalysis.

Automated summary

Constructing S-scheme heterojunction catalysts can be challenging due to the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In this study, sulfur-doped g-C3N4 and BiOBr materials were synthesized to form an S-g-C3N4/BiOBr S-scheme heterojunction, which establishes a strong internal electric field for efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The study also found that the visible light irradiation of BiOBr generates a large number of photogenerated holes, which oxidize and activate H2O to achieve deep oxidation mineralization.