Simultaneous S-scheme promoted Ag@AgVO3/g-C3N4/CeVO4 heterojunction with enhanced charge separation and photo redox ability towards solar photocatalysis

Nirmalendu S Mishra; Aneek Kuila; Pichiah Saravanan; Detlef Bahnemann; Min Jang; Santosh Routu

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138496

Simultaneous S-scheme promoted Ag@AgVO₃/g-C₃N₄/CeVO₄ heterojunction with enhanced charge separation and photo redox ability towards solar photocatalysis

Chemosphere. 2023 Jun:326:138496. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138496. Epub 2023 Mar 23.

Authors

Nirmalendu S Mishra¹, Aneek Kuila², Pichiah Saravanan³, Detlef Bahnemann⁴, Min Jang⁵, Santosh Routu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, 826004, Jharkhand, India.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
³ Environmental Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, 826004, Jharkhand, India. Electronic address: saravananpichiah@iitism.ac.in.
⁴ Institut Fuer Technische Chemie, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, D-30167, Hannover, Germany; Laboratory of Photoactive Nanocomposite Materials, Saint-Petersburg State University, Ulyanovskaya Str. 1, Peterhof, Saint-Petersburg, 198504, Russia.
⁵ Department of Environmental Engineering, Kwangwoon University, 447-1, Wolgye-dong Nowon-Gu, Seoul, South Korea.
⁶ Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Geethanjali College of Engineering and Technology, Cheeryal Village, Keesara Mandal, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

PMID: 36965528
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138496

Abstract

Photocatalytic removal of toxic contaminants is one of the emerging techniques for water remediation, but it suffers from low redox ability, charge recombination and poor light harvesting efficiency. The present work reports a simultaneous S-scheme promoted by CeVO₄/g-C₃N₄/Ag@AgVO₃. The formation of the S-scheme mechanism enhanced the generation of photogenerated carriers and also improved the redox ability of the electrons and holes in the reduction and oxidation photocatalysts. The ternary demonstrated remarkable photo switching properties along with efficient charge separation which was achieved through dual interfacial interaction within the ternary (Ag@AgVO₃/g-C₃N₄ and CeVO₄/g-C₃N₄). The heterojunction formation was verified through the shift in binding energy spectra in the X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis (HR-TEM). The ternary demonstrated reduced PL intensity, width of space charge region and an upsurge in photogenerated current density in the order of 93 μA/cm2 (∼6X higher than all the pristine). This resulted in efficient removal of methyl orange, methylene blue and endocrine disruptive bisphenol-A with a removal rate of 0.02 min^-1, 0.03 min^-1 and 0.0087 min^-1 and an apparent quantum yield of 4.6 × 10^-9 (Methylene Orange), 6.89 × 10^-9 (Methylene Blue) and 2 × 10^-9 (Bisphenol A/H₂O₂).

Keywords: BPA; DFT; S-scheme; Solar photocatalysis; Ternary heterojunction (Ag@AgVO(3)/g-C(3)N(4)/CeVO(4)).

MeSH terms

Benzhydryl Compounds
Hydrogen Peroxide*
Methylene Blue*
Oxidation-Reduction

Substances

Hydrogen Peroxide
Methylene Blue
bisphenol A
Benzhydryl Compounds