S-scheme BiVO4/CQDs/β-FeOOH photocatalyst for efficient degradation of ofloxacin: Reactive oxygen species transformation mechanism insight

Photocatalysis technology exhibited promising application for advanced treatment of wastewater. Nevertheless, the design of efficient photocatalyst and the mechanism of free radicals in pollutant degradation still remained to be further investigated. Herein, BiVO4/CQDs/β-FeOOH photocatalyst was fabricated by electrostatic self-assembly method, which exhibited the excellent photocatalytic performance. Under visible-light irradiation, the removal rate of ofloxacin by BiVO4/CQDs/β-FeOOH (0.25 min−1) was 1.93 times than pristine BiVO4, and the removal efficiency in 15 min reached 99.21%. The perfect reusability of BiVO4/CQDs/β-FeOOH was ascribed to the persistent catalytic active centers provided by the renewable surface oxygen vacancies on the β-FeOOH. As electron transfer channels, CQDs facilitated the transfer of BiVO4 photogeneration electrons. The matched band structure allowed the construction of S-scheme heterojunctions, and the higher conduction band position was retained while the carrier separation was promoted. More importantly, this work firstly reported the phenomenon that the main reactive groups in the photocatalysis process would be directionally transformed with the change of pH conditions. Based on the analysis of capture and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments, ·O2− was the main free radicals to photodegrade OFL in neutral and alkaline conditions. However, when the solution pH turned into acidic, the photodegradation of OFL was dominated by 1O2. This innovative phenomenon was due to that acidic condition accelerated the reaction kinetics of spontaneous transformation of ·O2− to 1O2 and inhibited the direct oxidation of pollutants by ·O2−. Accordingly, this research could inspire theoretical study of free radical reaction and the design of S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts.