One-pot facile synthesis of Bi2S3/SnS2/Bi2O3 ternary heterojunction as advanced double Z-scheme photocatalytic system for efficient dye removal under sunlight irradiation

The construction of solid-state Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalytic system to efficiently tailor the photoinduced charge separation is of great significance to water purification. In this study, we reported for the first time the controlled preparation of Bi2S3/SnS2/Bi2O3 double Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst by a simple one-pot solvothermal route. The experimental results with regard to rhodamine B (RhB) degradation showed that the as-fabricated heterojunctions can significantly enhance photocatalytic activity in comparison with pure Bi2S3. In addition, the optimized BiS-4 sample possessed good simulated-sunlight photocatalytic efficiency towards the degradation of other types of dyes, including methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB), orange IV (OG IV) and crystal violet (CV). By further probing the charge separation and migration behaviors, studying the band structure, as well as conducting the active species trapping experiments, a possible double Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism was proposed, which not only benefited the efficient photogenerated electron-hole pair separation but also demonstrated advanced capacity for the removal of organic dyes. This work would pave the route towards the design of novel Z-scheme photocatalytic systems for energy conversion and environmental remediation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.