Coupling of surface oxygen vacancies and structural engineering on ZnIn2S4/Bi2MoO6 for efficient norfloxacin degradation

The synergistic effects of surface oxygen vacancies (OVS) and ultrathin 2D structures offer promising prospects for improving photoelectric conversion efficiency by enhancing the transport efficiency of pho-togenerated charge carriers. Herein, we designed a unique honeycomb structure composite of Bi2MoO6- OVS/ZnIn2S4, contains both ultrathin 2D ZnIn2S4 nanosheets and a rich content of OVS. This composite exhibited excellent efficiency in the photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin (NFX). The ultrathin ZnIn2S4 nanosheets as "electron collectors", trapping electrons and accelerating carrier transport. Density functional theory calculations confirmed the significant utilization efficiency of photoexcited charge carriers using 20%-BM@ZIS (Bi2MOO6-OVS proportion: 20%) by introducing OVS. In the NFX degradation experiment, 20%-BM@ZIS achieved a 97.1% conversion rate of NFX, which was 4.201, 2.092, and 3.375 times higher than the pristine Bi2MoO6, Bi2MoO6-OVS, and ZnIn2S4, respectively. The combination of OVS and ultrathin 2D ma-terials is expected to shed new light upon the eco-friendly and rational design of efficient materials for converting solar light into chemical energy and also providing an effective solution for the efficient de -gradation of norfloxacin. (c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.