Novel 0D/1D ZnBi2O4/ZnO S-scheme photocatalyst for hydrogen production and BPA removal

Developing interfacial connections is one of the breakthrough strategies to improve the photocatalytic activity. Herein, ZnBi2O4 nanoparticles-ZnO nanorods heterojunction was successfully synthesized and used, as a dual-function photocatalyst, for photocatalytic degradation of Bisphenol A and hydrogen production with improved photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight irradiation. The highest H2 production (3.44 mmol g−1 h−1) was obtained for ZnO-20 wt% ZnBi2O4 sample, which is around 12.7 times higher than pure ZnO. According to the HRTEM result, the intimate interfacial connections are formed between ZnO and ZnBi2O4 which could act as trapping centers for charge carriers and results in the boosted photocatalytic activity. Further, a high aspect ratio of 1D ZnO nanorods and small size of 0D ZnBi2O4 nanoparticles (~10 nm) increases the number of interfacial contacts and thus the charge carriers’ recombination was suppressed more efficiently. Based on the trapping experiments, ESR and Mott-Schottky analysis, ZnBi2O4–ZnO hybrid photocatalyst followed the S-scheme charge transfer mechanism.