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Xia Zhang, Peng Zhang, Li Chen, Fan Mo, Zikang Xu. Z-Scheme Heterojunction-Enabled Superoxide Radical Dominance in BiO2-x-Bi2O2CO3 Photocatalyst for Efficient Organic Pollutant Degradation. Green Energy&Environment. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2026.03.004
Citation: Xia Zhang, Peng Zhang, Li Chen, Fan Mo, Zikang Xu. Z-Scheme Heterojunction-Enabled Superoxide Radical Dominance in BiO2-x-Bi2O2CO3 Photocatalyst for Efficient Organic Pollutant Degradation. Green Energy&Environment. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2026.03.004
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Z-Scheme Heterojunction-Enabled Superoxide Radical Dominance in BiO2-x-Bi2O2CO3 Photocatalyst for Efficient Organic Pollutant Degradation

doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2026.03.004

  • a. College of Food Science and Technology, Wuhan Business University, Wuhan 430056, PR China;

  • b. School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Key Laboratory of Green Utilization of Critical Non-metallic Mineral Resources, Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, P.R. China;

  • c. SEP Key Laboratory of Eco-industry, School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China;

  • d. Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China;

  • e. Hong Kong Branch of National Precious Metals Material Engineering Research Center (NPMM), City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Funds:

This work was supported by the Doctoral Research Fund Project of Wuhan Business University (2024KB012) and the Research Initiation Fund Project of Wuhan University of Technology (40121029).

  • Received date 12 October 2025, Accepted date 10 March 2026, RevRecd date 27 February 2026, Available online 17 March 2026
    Abstract
  • Heterojunction photocatalysis holds great significance for low-cost and efficient environmental remediation processes, particularly for addressing persistent antibiotic contamination. Here, BiO2-X-Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction photocatalysts are fabricated via a low-temperature solvothermal epitaxial growth method. The intimate interfacial contact between the BiO2-X nanoparticles and the epitaxially grown Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets was detected, which endows the heterostructure with significantly enhanced visible-light activity. The photocatalytic properties of the optimized composite, BiO2-X-Bi2O2CO3-20, are investigated in detail toward tetracycline (TC) degradation. The superior charge carrier dynamics is confirmed to be vital to enhanced performance, as evidenced by PL spectroscopy and transient photocurrent analysis, which collectively indicate that the heterojunction effectively suppresses electron-hole recombination and promotes charge transfer. Mechanistic studies, including ESR and radical trapping experiments, validated a Z-scheme charge transfer pathway, which ensures the preservation of the strong reducing (e- at -0.75 eV) and oxidizing (h+ at 2.51 eV) potentials. This preserved high energy (∼3.26 eV) promotes the generation of the superoxide radical (·O2-), conclusively identified as the dominant active species responsible for the high efficiency. This work introduces a robust Z-scheme method for Bi-based photocatalysts, which is ready to extend to other heterogeneous systems and offers a new option to design high-performance catalysts for efficient antibiotic-contaminated wastewater treatment under visible light.

     

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