FeOOH Quantum Dot-Coupled Z-Scheme BiVO4/g-C3N4 Heterojunction for Enhancing Photo-Fenton Reactions

Herein, FeOOH quantum dots and a Z-scheme BiVO4/g-C3N4 catalyst were coupled to obtain a Z-scheme heterojunction for photo-Fenton reactions to facilitate the transport of electrons and the generation of radicals. The obtained materials exhibited better visible light-driven photo-Fenton degradation of Rhodamine B, which is 22.06 times as high as pure BiVO4, 18.65 times as high as pure g-C3N4, and 3.44 times as high as BiVO4/g-C3N4, showing great potential in photo-Fenton degradation of pollutants. Moreover, the performance tests, radical capture experiments, and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that electron migration exists between the BiVO4/g-C3N4 and FeOOH-QDs. This composite system accelerates the cycling of Fe3+/Fe2+ during the photo-Fenton process, thus continuously generating reactive species (hydroxyl radicals (-OH) and superoxide radicals (-O-2-)), leading to the rapid degradation of organic pollutants. KEYWORDS: FeOOH, Z-scheme, photo-Fenton, tetracycline, visible light

Automated summary

In this study, FeOOH quantum dots and a Z-scheme BiVO4/g-C3N4 catalyst were coupled to form a Z-scheme heterojunction for photo-Fenton reactions. The obtained materials showed enhanced visible light-driven photo-Fenton degradation of Rhodamine B, surpassing the performance of pure BiVO4, g-C3N4, and BiVO4/g-C3N4. The system effectively facilitated electron transport and generation of reactive species for the rapid degradation of organic pollutants.