Enhanced photocatalytic degradation activity by CuO/B-g-C3N4 direct Z-scheme heterojunction

Antibiotics pose a significant threat to ecosystems and human health, creating an urgent need to develop highly efficient visible-light-driven degradation catalytic technologies. In this study, we synthesized a CuO/B-g-C 3 N 4 (CO/BCN) direct Z -scheme heterojunction composite photocatalyst based on non-metallic doping and heterojunction engineering. XRD, TEM, and XPS analyses indicate that the material exhibits good crystallinity and forms a tightly bound interfacial heterostructure. Photoelectronic measurements reveal a significant enhancement in visible light absorption and an improvement in carrier separation efficiency. Under illumination, the 0.2-CO/BCN system achieved 97.6% degradation of tetracycline (TC) within 120 min. The performance improvement is attributed to the Z -scheme heterojunction, which facilitates charge transport and suppresses the recombination of photo-generated electrons and holes. Radical trapping, EPR and work function characterization further elucidated the reaction mechanism. This study provides a theoretical basis and experimental reference for regulating energy levels through elemental doping and constructing heterojunction composite photocatalytic materials. Download: Download high-res image (266KB) Download: Download full-size image