Jayeola Kehinde D, Sipuka Dimpo S, Sebokolodi Tsholofelo I, Babalola Jonathan O, Zhou Minghua, Marken Frank, Arotiba Omotayo A
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.
Centre for Nanomaterials Science Research, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2025 Jan 8;17(1):1385-1398. doi: 10.1021/acsami.4c20102. Epub 2024 Dec 5.
To develop a semiconductor interface with enhanced spatial separation of carriers under visible light irradiation for the photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation process, we explored the fabrication of a BiOS/NiTiO heterojunction photoanode for the removal of sulfamethoxazole in water. The BiOS/NiTiO photoanode was synthesized via an in situ hydrothermal process, and it exhibited better light absorption and charge separation, as well as a reduced rate of recombination of photoexcited charge species compared to pristine BiOS and NiTiO The improved photoelectrocatalytic performance was attributed to the synergistic interaction between BiOS and NiTiO and the presence of an S-O bond at the heterojunction interface, thus resulting in Z-scheme heterojunction formation. Various characterization methods such as XPS, UV-DRS, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photoluminescence, FESEM, TEM, and photocurrent response measurements were explored to explain the optical and electrochemical properties of the semiconductor heterojunction. The PEC degradation process was optimized, demonstrating a degradation efficiency removal of 80% for 5 mg/L sulfamethoxazole in water, with a TOC removal of 45.5%. A Z-scheme heterojunction formation mechanism was proposed to explain the enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity of the photoanode. This work generally contributes to the development of efficient and sustainable photoanodes for environmental remediation.
为了开发一种在可见光照射下具有增强载流子空间分离的半导体界面用于光电化学（PEC）氧化过程，我们探索了用于去除水中磺胺甲恶唑的BiOS/NiTiO异质结光阳极的制备。BiOS/NiTiO光阳极通过原位水热法合成，与原始的BiOS和NiTiO相比，它表现出更好的光吸收和电荷分离，以及光激发电荷物种的复合率降低。光电催化性能的提高归因于BiOS和NiTiO之间的协同相互作用以及异质结界面处S-O键的存在，从而导致形成Z型异质结。探索了各种表征方法，如XPS、UV-DRS、电化学阻抗谱、光致发光、FESEM、TEM和光电流响应测量，以解释半导体异质结的光学和电化学性质。对PEC降解过程进行了优化，结果表明对水中5 mg/L磺胺甲恶唑的降解效率去除率为80%，TOC去除率为45.5%。提出了Z型异质结形成机制来解释光阳极增强的光电催化活性。这项工作总体上有助于开发用于环境修复的高效且可持续的光阳极。
