Simultaneous photocatalytic removal of tetracycline and hexavalent chromium by BiVO4/0.6CdS photocatalyst: Insights into the performance, evaluation, calculation and mechanism

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science 2024-08, Vol.667, p.650-662
• Main Authors: Zheng, Jiahui, Zhao, Zhenxia, Liang, Jing, Liang, Bin, Huang, Hualin, Huang, Gang, Junaid, Muhammad, Wang, Jun, Huang, Kai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Density functional theory calculation; Novel Z-scheme heterojunction; Photocatalytic mechanism; Photocatalytic removal; Tetracycline and hexavalent chromium
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.127

[Display omitted] •A novel Z-scheme heterojunction was attained by in-situ synthesized on the surface of BiVO4.•Efficient photocatalytic performance of BiVO4/0.6CdS for removing binary combined pollution of tetracycline and hexavalent chromium simultaneously.•The photocatalytic mechanism was studied through experimental and theoretical calculations.•Possibly generated intermediate products during the degradation process of TC were examined. In this study, a novel Z-scheme heterojunction on bismuth vanadium/cadmium sulfide (BiVO4/0.6CdS) was developed and evaluated for simultaneous photocatalytic removal of combined tetracycline (TC) and hexavalent chromium Cr(Ⅵ) pollution under visible light. Based on the analysis of intermediate products and theoretical calculation, the property of the intermediate products of TC degradation and the effect of built-in electric field (IEF) of composite materials on photo-generated carrier separation were illustrated. According to the experiments and evaluation results, the performance of BiVO4/0.6CdS is higher than CdS 2.83 times and 4.82 times under the visible light conditions, with the aspect of simultaneous oxidizing TC and reducing Cr(Ⅵ), respectively. The catalyst has a faster removal rate in the binary composite pollution system than the single one. Therefore, the photocatalytic degradation of TC using BiVO4/0.6CdS can reduce the toxic effect of TC on the environment. The aforementioned evaluation provides a new design strategy for Z-scheme heterojunction to simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of composite organic and inorganic pollutants.