Co-W₁₈O₄₉/PDI Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst for photocatalytic BPA degradation and mechanism

Efficient migration and separation of photogenerated carriers in semiconductors is crucial to the photocatalytic activity, but significant challenges remain. Herein, the Co-W₁₈O₄₉/PDI composite is prepared, and the Z-scheme mechanism is investigated. The Co-W₁₈O₄₉ nanowires are evenly distributed on the PDI nanorods to create closely connected heterojunctions for enhanced interfacial charge-carrier separation and transfer. The photocatalytic activity of Co-W₁₈O₄₉/PDI is monitored by photocatalytic degradation of BPA by visible light irradiation. The degradation rate of BPA by Co-W₁₈O₄₉/PDI composites was 91.2% within 150 minutes of visible light irradiation. Based on the experimental results of LC-MS and ESR, the photocatalytic degradation mechanism is proposed. The synergistic effect not only improve the generation rate of the active species and reduces the activation energy barrier, but also significantly increases O₂ adsorption to make activation easier for efficient photocatalytic BPA degradation. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.