CuS anchored onto peanut-like BiVO4 p-n heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic degradation activity under visible light irradiation

Seeking cheap photocatalysts for practical application is a great challenge. It is greatly significant to construct heterojunctions for the efficient separation of photoexcited carriers. Herein, a peanut-like CuS/BiVO4 p-n heterojunction is prepared using thiourea as the raw material via a two-step hydrothermal process. The 8%CuS/BiVO4 composite has many advantages, including excellent visible light absorption capacity, photoelectric performance, and enhanced glyphosate degradation rate by 3.8 times compared to BiVO4. The probable photocatalytic mechanism is proposed according to the XPS, DRS, photocurrent, PL, and experimental results. The intimate interface contact between CuS and BiVO4 effectively achieves quick separation of photoinduced charge carriers and improves photocatalytic activity, thus enhancing degradation efficiency of glyphosate. The glyphosate degradation path is also investigated according to the intermediates detected by mass spectrometry.