Facile Fabrication of Novel S‐scheme Ag ₃ PO ₄ /g‐C ₃ N ₄ /Zeolite Photocatalyst for Boosting Photocatalytic Tetracycline Degradation and Hydrogen Production

This study presents a novel ternary Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄/zeolite composite for photocatalytic H₂ production and TC degradation through S-scheme electron transport. The S-scheme Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction was successfully constructed on zeolite surface through calcination and precipitation processes. The results indicated that Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄/zeolite-50 % presented dramatically enhanced photocatalytic TC degradation performance, and the TC degradation efficiency was up to 92.86 % in 180 min under visible light. The corresponding reaction rate constant was 0.01205 min^-1 which was 2.18 and 7.48 times greater than those of pure Ag₃PO₄ (0.00554 min^-1) and g-C₃N₄ (0.00161 min^-1), respectively. Meanwhile, the highest H₂ production rate (2748.6 μmol g^-1 h^-1) was achieved over Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄/zeolite-50 % under simulated solar light which was around 26.5 and 5.6 times higher than that of g-C₃N₄ and Ag₃PO₄, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the ternary composite was mainly due to the synergistic effect of S-scheme Ag₃PO₄/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction and zeolite support which endowed the composite with excellent adsorption activity, enhanced light response ability, and efficient separation of photoinduced carriers. TC degradation mechanism and pathways were proposed based on quenching experiment and HPLC-MS results. Overall, this study proposes a promising strategy for significantly improving photocatalytic activity and applying in photocatalytic pollutant degradation and hydrogen production.