Insights into the role of reactive oxygen species in photocatalytic H2O2 generation and OTC removal over a novel BN/Zn3In2S6 heterojunction

Qian-Qian Fan; Cheng-Gang Niu; Hai Guo; Da-Wei Huang; Zheng-Tao Dong; Ya-Ya Yang; Hui-Yun Liu; Lu Li; Meng-Zhu Qin

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129483

Insights into the role of reactive oxygen species in photocatalytic H₂O₂ generation and OTC removal over a novel BN/Zn₃In₂S₆ heterojunction

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Sep 15:438:129483. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129483. Epub 2022 Jun 27.

Authors

Qian-Qian Fan¹, Cheng-Gang Niu², Hai Guo³, Da-Wei Huang⁴, Zheng-Tao Dong¹, Ya-Ya Yang¹, Hui-Yun Liu¹, Lu Li¹, Meng-Zhu Qin¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China. Electronic address: cgniu@hnu.edu.cn.
³ School of Resources and Environment, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410205, China.
⁴ South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of PRC, Guangzhou 510655, China. Electronic address: huangdawei@scies.org.

PMID: 35820331
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129483

Abstract

Developing photocatalysts with superior performance to generate hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and degrade oxytetracycline (OTC) is an effective strategy for the treatment of energy crisis and water purification. Herein, BN nanosheets were anchored onto the Zn₃In₂S₆ microspheres for the research. Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) results demonstrate that due to different work functions and unique 2D/2D contact, the electron is spatially separated in BN/Zn₃In₂S₆ nanocomposite, which increases the electron transfer efficiency from 43.7% (Zn₃In₂S₆) to 55.6% (BN/ZIS-4). As a result, BN/ZIS-4 with optimal ratio of BN and Zn₃In₂S₆ exhibits the highest OTC degradation efficiency (84.5%) and H₂O₂ generation rate (115.5 μmol L^-1) under visible light illumination, which is 2.2 and 2.9 times than that of pristine Zn₃In₂S₆. H₂O₂ generation is dominated by two pathways: two-step single-electron process (O₂ → ∙O₂^- → H₂O₂) and another way (O₂ → ∙O₂^- → ¹O₂ → H₂O₂). In the process of degrading OTC, ∙O₂^-, ¹O₂ and ∙OH are regarded as the main active species. This work offers a new insight for designing efficient, stable and reusable photocatalysts to solve current environmental conundrums.

Keywords: 2D/2D contact; BN/Zn(3)In(2)S(6); H(2)O(2) generation; OTC degradation.