Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (12): 100190.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100190

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles    

Interfacial engineering of Cd0.5Zn0.5S/BiOBr S-scheme heterojunction with oxygen vacancies for effective photocatalytic antibiotic removal

Deyun Ma1, Fenglan Liang1, Qingquan Xue2,*(), Yanping Liu3, Chunqiang Zhuang4,*(), Shijie Li3,5,*()   

  1. 1 School of Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing 526061, Guangdong Province, China
    2 Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy (IRA), Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou 310015, Zhejiang Provincne, China
    3 Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Pollution Control for Port-Petrochemical Industry, National Engineering Research Center for Marine Aquaculture, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, Zhejiang Province, China
    4 Institute of Microstructure and Property of Advanced Materials, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
    5 Henan Engineering Research Center of Resource & Energy Recovery from Waste, School of Energy Science and Technology, Henan University, Zhengzhou 450046, Henan Province, China
  • Received:2025-08-10 Revised:2025-09-19 Accepted:2025-09-19 Published:2025-10-23
  • Contact: Email: qingquanxue@zjsru.edu.cn (Qingquan Xue)lishijie@zjou.edu.cn (Shijie Li)chunqiang.zhuang@bjut.edu.cn (Chunqiang Zhuang)
  • Supported by:
    the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province(LY20E080014); the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51708504); the Open Cooperation Foundation of the Department of Chemical Science of Henan University(DCSHENU2413)

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Abstract:

The construction of S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts has emerged as a promising strategy to address the urgent need for efficient antibiotic wastewater remediation. However, persistent challenges in achieving interfacial intimacy and precise charge transfer regulation between semiconductors have hindered their practical implementation. In this work, we engineered a hierarchical Cd0.5Zn0.5S/BiOBr S-scheme heterojunction via a controlled solvothermal synthesis, where BiOBr microspheres serve as the core, and Cd0.5Zn0.5S nanoparticles form a conformal shell. This architecture ensures maximal interfacial contact and directional charge dynamics, critical for optimizing photocatalytic efficiency. The optimized heterojunction exhibits superior catalytic performance, achieving tetracycline (TC) degradation rate constants 3.3- and 1.6-fold greater than pristine BiOBr and Cd0.5Zn0.5S, respectively. This enhancement stems from the synergistic interplay of efficient charge separation and preserved redox capacities inherent to the S-scheme mechanism. Furthermore, the TC degradation process and mechanism were elucidated. This study provides a new perspective on developing defective S-scheme heterojunctions for antibiotic wastewater purification with high performance.

Key words: Internal electric field, Cd0.5Zn0.5S/BiOBr, S-scheme heterojunction, Oxygen vacancies, Antibiotic degradation, Photocatalysis, Toxicity analysis