article · ChemSusChem
A new S-scheme composite photocatalyst combining bismuth oxybromide and phosphorus-doped graphitic carbon nitride was synthesised with oxygen vacancies. Designed in a three-dimensional structure with bridging bonds, the material promotes effective charge transfer to overcome common issues with charge recombination and catalyst stability. Under visible light, the material degrades pharmaceutical pollutants, specifically levofloxacin and oxytetracycline. The system generates hydrogen peroxide in situ to enhance the complete breakdown of pollutants. Surface plasmon resonance from metallic bismuth enhances the formation of superoxide radicals and improves operational stability, leading to increased reaction rates across repeated testing cycles. The degradation rate for levofloxacin proved to be three times higher than that of oxytetracycline, while analytical testing confirmed the breakdown of target compounds and their intermediate by-products.
Pharmaceutical residues in wastewater present significant environmental challenges because conventional treatments struggle to eliminate them. Developing durable photocatalysts activated by visible light offers a promising route to clean contaminated water sustainably. By generating reactive agents directly during the process and maintaining stability over repeated cycles, this design addresses key technical bottlenecks in breaking down persistent medicinal contaminants.
This technology targets advanced wastewater treatment, particularly for water utilities or pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities dealing with antibiotic-contaminated effluent. The research remains at an early laboratory stage, demonstrating performance in controlled degradation experiments of specific drug molecules under visible light. Substantial testing in complex real-world effluents, scale-up of catalyst production, and reactor engineering will be necessary before industrial deployment is feasible.
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Complications accompanying photocatalyst stability and recombination of exciton charges in pollutants degradation has been addressed through the construction of heterojunctions, especially S-scheme heterojunction with strong and distinctive redox centres. Herein, an S-scheme BiOBr (BOR) and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>PO<sub>4</sub> (CNPO) catalyst (BORCNPO) with oxygen vacancy (Ov) was synthesized for levofloxacin (LVX) and oxytetracycline (OTC) photodegradation under visible light. The 3D/3D BORCNPO catalyst possessed C-O-Br bridging bonds for efficient charge transfer during the fabrication of S-scheme heterojunction. In-situ H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> formation affirmed by potassium titanium (IV) oxalate spectrophotometric method improved the mineralization ability of BORCNPO7.5 catalyst. Bi<sup>0</sup> surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enhanced formation and involvement of ⋅O<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup> and the stability of the catalyst which increased reaction rate with increasing cycling experiments. XPS and radical trapping experiments supported the S-scheme charge transfer mechanism formation with high degradation rate of LVX which was 3 times higher than OTC degradation rate. Mineralization of pollutants and their intermediates were demonstrated with florescence excitation and emission matrix (FEEM) and quadruple time of flight high performance liquid chromatography (QTOF-HPLC). This work advances development of highly stable and efficient catalysts for photodegradation of pollutants through the formation of S-scheme heterostructure.
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DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202401471
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