Facile construction of 0D/2D In2O3/Bi2WO6 Z-scheme heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity for antibiotics removal

Proper interfacial contact and efficient interfacial charge transfer play a predominant role in improving the photocatalytic performance. In this work, the 0D/2D In2O3/Bi2WO6 Z-scheme heterojunction was constructed successfully. The In2O3 nanoparticles were immobilized on the surface of the Bi2WO6 nanosheets via a facile hydrothermal-calcination method. The crystal structure and photoelectrochemical properties of samples were further characterized. 15% In2O3/Bi2WO6 (IB-15) exhibited optimal photocatalytic properties in degradation of tetracycline (TC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) under visible-light irradiation, and the possible degradation pathways of TC were acknowledged derived from LC-MS. According to the results of radical trapping experiments, superoxide radicals (•O2-) and photogenerated holes (h+) were predominant active species for TC degradation and a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed. The significant improvement of photocatalytic property was attributed to the unique Z-scheme heterojunction with 0D/2D architecture which facilitates the rapid separation of photo-excited carriers and expands the range of absorption spectrum. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.