Molybdenum disulfide loading on a Z-scheme graphitic carbon nitride and lanthanum nickelate heterojunction for enhanced photocatalysis: Interfacial charge transfer and mechanistic insights

Interfacial design and the co-catalyst effect are considered to be effective to achieve separation and transport of photogenerated carriers in composite photocatalysts. In this study, a Z-scheme heterojunction was successfully combined with a co-catalyst to achieve a highly efficient LaNiO3/g-C3N4/MoS2 photocatalyst. MoS2 flakes were loaded on a hybrid material surface, which was formed by LaNiO3 nanocubes embedded on layered g-C3N4, and a good heterostructure with multiple attachment sites was obtained. Experimental studies confirmed that the Z-scheme heterojunction completely preserves the strong redox ability of the photogenerated electrons and holes. As a cocatalyst, MoS2 further promoted interfacial charge separation and transport. The synergistic effect of the Z-scheme heterojunction and co-catalyst effectively realized the transfer of photogenerated carriers from slow transfer to high transfer and promoted water decomposition and pollutant degradation. Results revealed that under simulated sunlight irradiation, LaNiO3/g-C3N4/MoS2 composites exhibit superior hydrogen evolution of 45.1 lmol h 1, which is 19.1 times that of g-C3N4 and 4.9 times that of LaNiO3/g-C3N4, respectively. Moreover, the LaNiO3/g-C3N4/MoS2 Z-scheme photocatalyst exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance for antibiotic degradation and heavy-metal ion reduction under visible light. This study might provide some insights into the development of photocatalysts for solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The combination of a Z-scheme heterojunction with a co-catalyst in this study resulted in a highly efficient LaNiO3/g-C3N4/MoS2 photocatalyst, promoting the transfer of photogenerated carriers and pollutant degradation. The synergistic effect of the Z-scheme heterojunction and co-catalyst effectively realized the enhancement of photocatalytic performance for solar energy conversion and environmental remediation.