Ag3PO4-anchored La2Ti2O7 nanorod as a Z-Scheme heterostructure composite with boosted photogenerated carrier separation and enhanced photocatalytic performance under natural sunlight

Xiaojuan Chen; Jieming Chen; Ning Li; Jiesen Li; Juhua He; Song Xu; Yanping Zhu; Liang Yao; Yiqi Lai; Runliang Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121322

Ag₃PO₄-anchored La₂Ti₂O₇ nanorod as a Z-Scheme heterostructure composite with boosted photogenerated carrier separation and enhanced photocatalytic performance under natural sunlight

Environ Pollut. 2023 Apr 15:323:121322. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121322. Epub 2023 Feb 20.

Authors

Xiaojuan Chen¹, Jieming Chen¹, Ning Li², Jiesen Li³, Juhua He⁴, Song Xu¹, Yanping Zhu⁵, Liang Yao¹, Yiqi Lai¹, Runliang Zhu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China.
² Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China; Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510610, China.
³ Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China; Department of Research and Development, Guangzhou Ginpie Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510670, China.
⁴ Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 999077, China.
⁵ College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
⁶ Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China. Electronic address: zhurl@gig.ac.cn.

PMID: 36813103
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121322

Abstract

Developing wide spectra-responsive photocatalysts has attracted considerable attention in the photocatalytic technology to achieve excellent catalytic activity. Ag₃PO₄, with strong response to light spectra shorter than 530 nm, shows extremely outstanding photocatalytic oxidation ability. Unfortunately, the photocorrosion of Ag₃PO₄ is still the biggest obstacle to its application. Herein, the La₂Ti₂O₇ nanorod was used to anchor Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles in this study, and a novel Z-Scheme La₂Ti₂O₇/Ag₃PO₄ heterostructure composite was constructed. Remarkably, the composite showed strong responsive to most of the spectra in natural sunlight. The Ag⁰ formed in-situ acted as the recombination center of photogenerated carriers, which promoted their efficient separation and contributed to the improved photocatalytic performance of the heterostructure. When the mass ratio of Ag₃PO₄ in the La₂Ti₂O₇/Ag₃PO₄ catalyst was 50%, the degradation rate constant of Rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), chloroquine phosphate (CQ), tetracycline (TC), and phenol under natural sunlight irradiation were 0.5923, 0.4463, 0.1399, 0.0493, and 0.0096 min^-1, respectively. Furthermore, the photocorrosion of the composite was greatly inhibited, 76.49% of CQ and 83.96% of RhB were still degraded after four cycles. Besides, the holes and O₂^•- played a significant role in RhB degradation, and it included multiple mechanisms of deethylation, deamination, decarboxylation, and cleavage of ring-structures. Moreover, the treated solution can also show safety to the water receiving environment. Overall, the synthesized Z-Scheme La₂Ti₂O₇/Ag₃PO₄ composite exhibited immense potential for removing various organic pollutants through photocatalytic technology under natural sunlight irradiation.

Keywords: Ag(3)PO(4); Degradation pathway; La(2)Ti(2)O(7); Natural sunlight; Z-Scheme.

MeSH terms

Nanotubes*
Phosphates / chemistry
Silver Compounds
Sunlight*
Titanium

Substances

Titanium
Phosphates
Silver Compounds