Construction and Performance Characterization of BiTmFeSbO7/BiTmO3 Heterojunction Photocatalyst and the Photocatalytic Degradation of Sulfathiazole Under Visible Light Irradiation.

In this study, a novel photocatalytic nanomaterial BiTmFeSbO7 was successfully synthesized for the first time by using the solvothermal method. On account of the effective Z-scheme mechanism, the BiTmFeSbO7/BiTmO3 heterojunction photocatalyst (BTBTHP) could effectively separate the photoinduced electrons and the photoinduced holes, concurrently, the high oxidation potential and reduction potential of the BiTmFeSbO7 and the BiTmO3 were retained. Additionally, a Z-scheme BTBTHP was synthesized by using an ultrasound-assisted solvothermal approach. As a result, the BTBTHP exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance during the degradation process of the sulfathiazole (STZ). The morphological features, composition distribution, photochemistry properties and photoelectric properties of the prepared samples were investigated by using the comprehensive characterization techniques. Under the condition of visible light irradiation, the BTBTHP demonstrated an excellent removal efficiency of 99.50% for degrading the STZ. Contrastive analysis results indicated that the removal efficiency of the STZ by using the BTBTHP was substantially higher than that by using the BiTmFeSbO7, the BiTmO3, and the N-doped TiO2. The removal rate of the STZ by using the BTBTHP was 1.14 times that by using the BiTmFeSbO7, 1.28 times that by using the BiTmO3, and 2.71 times that by using the N-doped TiO2. Moreover, the stability and the reusability of the BTBTHP were verified through five successive photocatalytic cyclic degradation experiments, indicating that the BTBTHP owned potential for the practical application. The active species which was produced by the BTBTHP were identified as hydroxyl radicals (•OH), superoxide anions (•O2-), and photoinduced holes (h+) by capturing radicals experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance testing experiments. Therefore, the degradation mechanism and the pathway of the STZ could be more comprehensively elucidated. In summary, this study lays a solid foundation for the development and further research of high efficient Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts and offers novel insights into sustainable remediation strategies for the STZ pollution.