Hydrothermal Construction and Visible-Light Driven Photodegradation Performance of CuIn11S17/g-C3N4 Heterojunction

Designing and constructing heterojunctions is an effective way to exert the synergistic effect of semiconductor photocatalysts. In this paper, a novel CuIn11S17/g-C3N4 (CIS/CN) Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst was hydrothermally synthesized and systematically characterized. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by degrading Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. As expected, the optimized CIS/CN (0.75) sample showed superior photocatalytic activity, and the photocatalytic degradation efficiencies were 2.68 and 2.82 times those of pristine CuIn11S17 (CIS) and g-C3N4 (CN), respectively. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity is ascribed to the formation of a Z-scheme heterojunction between CIS and CN, which is conducive to the migration and separation of photogenerated carriers and enhances the light absorption capacity. Moreover, a photocatalytic mechanism involving $${\text{O}}_{2}^{ - }$$ and h+ as major active species was proposed based on photoelectric properties and active species capture experiments. The present work provides a promising approach for the design and construction of highly efficient visible light-responsive photocatalysts for the treatment of persistent pollutants in wastewater.