Design of Z-scheme polymeric carbon nitride/Bi2WO6 heterojunctions for efficient visible-light-driven antibiotic degradation

The use of heterojunctions with Z-scheme photocatalysts holds great promise for enhancing the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of antibiotics. In this study, we report the construction of a novel heterostructure by in-situ growth of the ultrathin polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) on the electrospun Bi2WO6 nanofibers for improved photocatalytic tetracycline (TC) degradation under visible light. Our gas-solid reaction strategy enables the formation of uniform and intimate junctions between the PCN nanosheets and the Bi2WO6 nanofibers, resulting in a well-contacted interface that remarkably accelerates the separation and transfer of the photogenerated charge carriers. The optimized PCN/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst exhibits a significant TC degradation rate of 89.5 % under visible light, which is 1.4-fold and 2.0-fold of the pure PCN and Bi2WO6 photocatalysts, respectively. Our innovative design philosophy opens up a new horizon for the development of efficient Z-scheme heterostructured photocatalysts for antibiotic degradation.