Hybrid 0D/2D heterostructures: in-situ growth of 0D g-C3N4 on 2D BiOI for efficient photocatalyst

Binary composite catalyst of g-C3N4 and BiOI has been shown to have tremendous potential in visible light catalytic degradation of organic pollutant. However, the adjustment of scale and morphology of the heterojunction composite catalyst (g-C3N4/BiOI) has attracted unprecedented attention for improving the photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, a facile preparation method of Z-scheme heterojunction composite catalyst of zero-dimensional g-C3N4 growing on two-dimensional BiOI (0D/2D g-C3N4/BiOI) was proposed, which features with a self-assembled organic supramolecular as precursor intercalating into the laminar 2D BiOI to prepare a highly dispersed 0D g-C3N4 in situ growth on it. The result demonstrates that the as-prepared 0D/2D g-C3N4/BiOI is superior to non-noble metal heterojunction catalysts and comparable to some noble metal catalysts and exhibits a 22.1 times higher kinetic constant for tetracycline hydrochloride degradation than that of g-C3N4 with a degradation rate of 92.1%. Additionally, 0D/2D g-C3N4/BiOI also indicates excellent stability of cyclic photocatalysis and resistance to ionic interference. The underlying photocatalytic degradation mechanism is considered that the generated superoxide radical (·O2−) of 0D/2D g-C3N4/BiOI can intensely catalyse the refractory organic matter, including tetracycline hydrochloride, tetracycline hydrochloride, methyl orange, and p-chlorophenol. This work provides a universal approach to construct 0D/2D heterojunction composite catalyst to enhance the photocatalytic performance.