Z-Scheme In2S3/MIL-101(Fe) Heterojunction with Synergy of Adsorbability and Photocatalysis toward Highly Efficient Tetracycline Degradation

With the progress of society and the development of medical care, the abuse of antibiotics has become an environmental problem that cannot be ignored. In this work, a significant improvement in photocatalytic efficiency for tetracycline degradation was achieved through the design of a direct Z-scheme heterojunction In 2 S 3 /MIL-101(Fe), realized by precisely controlling the in situ growth of In 2 S 3 nanoblocks on octahedral MIL-101(Fe). MIL-101(Fe) and In 2 S 3 generate a strong built-in electric field to facilitate the efficient transfer and separation of photoexcited carriers. Furthermore, the enhanced specific surface area of In 2 S 3 /MIL-101(Fe) offers more active sites for catalytic reactions. Simulated sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation experiments of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) demonstrated a significant enhancement in the performance of the heterojunction photocatalyst. It achieved an 82.2% TC removal efficiency with a degradation rate constant of 0.0113 min −1 , representing 3.05 times and 4.52 times the performance of pure In 2 S 3 and MIL-101(Fe) materials, respectively. This study offers valuable insights into the design of efficient and stable metal-organic framework (MOF)-based heterojunction photocatalysts and holds promising potential for the remediation of antibiotic pollution.