Synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and Z-scheme in Ag3PO4/FeSnO(OH)5 for ultrafast degradation of indomethacin via photogenerated h+

Ineffective separation of photo-carriers and slow photoreaction rates seriously limit the decontamination effectiveness of the photocatalyst. To overcome these limitations, herein, the oxygen vacancies modified Z-scheme Ag 3 PO 4 /FeSnO(OH) 5 heterojunction was designed with FeSnO(OH) 5 as a co-catalyst. In this photosystem, Ag 3 PO 4 and FeSnO(OH) 5 function as oxidation and reduction centers of Ag 3 PO 4 /FeSnO(OH) 5 photocatalysts, respectively. Importantly, oxygen vacancies in the Z-scheme heterojunction provide an effective charge transport pathway, which not only inhibits the photocorrosion of Ag 3 PO 4 but also reduces electron-hole recombination, significantly boosting the photocatalytic decontamination performance and long-term stability of the Ag 3 PO 4 /FeSnO(OH) 5 photocatalyst. Remarkably, the Ag 3 PO 4 /FeSnO(OH) 5 photocatalyst demonstrated outstanding photocatalytic performance, 100 % degrading indomethacin (IDM) under visible light in just 30 min through the main generation of h + that attacks the active atoms of IDM, prominently outperforming other counterparts. Besides, three principal degradation pathways were proposed, and the toxicity of the degradation products was significantly reduced. The Ag 3 PO 4 /FeSnO(OH) 5 exhibited high photocatalytic degradation efficacy across different qualities of water. This research offers an oxygen vacancy modified engineering combined with a Z-scheme heterojunction strategy for constructing extraordinary photocatalysts for environmental purification.