Dual-functional LaFeO3/CdS/HNTs heterojunction: Combining antibiotic degradation with green H2O2 production

Novel Z-scheme heterojunctions for photocatalytic breakthroughs. • Dual functions: antibiotic degradation and H 2 O 2 generation. • Integrate environmental remediation with resource conversion. • Optimize key factors for balanced dual functionality. To address antibiotic pollution, high carrier recombination, and the risks associated with externally applied hydrogen peroxide, this study constructs a LaFeO 3 /CdS Z-scheme heterojunction on halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) via hydrothermal-calcination. HNTs prevent nanoparticle agglomeration, while the Z-scheme mechanism reduces recombination and preserves redox activity, enabling synergistic antibiotic degradation and H 2 O 2 production. The HLC catalyst achieves 91.73% tetracycline degradation, 333 μmol/L H 2 O 2 yield, and 80% E. coli antibacterial rate. It performs well under various water qualities and coexisting salts. Mechanistic analysis indicates that tetracycline degradation is primarily driven by the superoxide anion radical as the core active species, whereas hydrogen peroxide generation is hole-dominated; both processes are achieved through the synergistic interaction of multiple active species with photo-generated electrons. Furthermore, in situ-generated H 2 O 2 can undergo self-Fenton reaction with Fe 2+ in the material, further enhancing antibiotic degradation capacity. This study is the first to integrate HNTs with a LaFeO 3 /CdS Z-scheme heterostructure, overcoming the limitations of traditional catalysts. It achieves dual benefits-environmental remediation and in-situ green oxidant synthesis-offering a new design paradigm for low-cost, high-performance multifunctional photocatalysts with strong practical potential for water pollution control. Download: Download high-res image (184KB) Download: Download full-size image