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Efficient photocatalytic degradation of microplastics by constructing a novel Z-scheme Fe-doped BiO2−x/BiOI heterojunction with full-spectrum response: Mechanistic insights and theory calculations
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Researchers developed a new photocatalyst that can break down PET microplastics in water using the full spectrum of light, including visible light. The iron-doped material created deep cracks in PET plastic within just 10 hours of light exposure. This technology could eventually help remove microplastics from water treatment systems, reducing the amount that reaches drinking water.
Recently, microplastics (MPs) have garnered significant attention as a challenging emerging pollutant to address. Here, a full-spectrum light-driven Fe-doping BiO/BiOI (FBI) Z-scheme heterojunction was constructed for efficiently degrading MPs in waters. Compared with BiO, Fe doping BiO, and BiOI, the optimal photocatalyst (40-FBI) can cause deep cracks in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) within 10 h under the irradiation of full-spectrum light. Meanwhile, FT-IR characterization revealed that the absorption peak intensities of the C-O group, CO group, -CH stretching vibration, and -OH group on the MPs surface gradually increased with degradation time. A series of experiments and theory calculations revealed that the introduction of Fe creates impurity levels, accelerating the separation of photo-generated carriers and reducing the work function of BiO, thereby enhancing the transport of photo-generated carriers between Z-scheme heterojunctions. This study offers a valuable idea for designing an efficient photocatalyst by simultaneously introducing ion doping and constructing heterojunctions for enhancing MPs degradation.
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