Study on the Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance and Degradation Mechanism of Diclofenac Sodium under the System of Hetero-Structural CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 with H2O2

Two kinds of CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 with different heterojunction structures were prepared based on the combination of hydrothermal and in-situ precipitation methods with surfactant additives (sodium citrate and sodium stearate), and their characteristics were systematically resolved by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)/ High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), UV-vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectra (DRS) and Photoluminescence (PL). Meanwhile, the photocatalytic properties of the catalysts were determined for diclofenac sodium (DS) degradation and the photocatalytic mechanism was also explored. The results indicate that both of the two kinds of CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 exhibit higher photocatalytic efficiency, mineralization rate, and stability than that of pure CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4. Moreover, the catalytic activity of CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 can be further enhanced by adding H2O2. The free radical capture experiments show that in the pure CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 photocatalytic system, the OH center dot and O2 center dot- are the main species participating in DS degradation; however, in the CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 photocatalytic system with H2O2, all OH center dot, h(+), and O2 center dot take part in the DS degradation, and the contribution order is OH center dot > h(1) > O-2 center dot. Accordingly, the photocatalytic mechanism of CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 could be explained by the Z-Scheme theory, while the catalysis of CuBi2O4/Ag3PO4 with H2O2 follows the heterojunction energy band theory.