Heterostructured S‑Scheme BiOBr/Cu<sub>2</sub>O Nanocomposite\nfor Photocatalytic Degradation of Glyphosate

Metal oxide semiconductor-activated\nphotocatalysis has become a\npromising sustainable technology for the mitigation of emerging organic\npollutants. The rational design of a photocatalyst heterojunction\nallows the degradation of a broad range of organic contaminants. Herein,\nwe optimized hydrothermal approaches for the facial synthesis of well-defined\nBiOBr/Cu<sub>2</sub>O heterojunction photocatalysts. Tuning the synthesis\ncondition enhanced the interfacing of BiOBr and Cu<sub>2</sub>O nanostructures\nin the heterojunction photocatalyst, as confirmed by STEM, TEM, XPS,\nXRD, and BET analysis. The optimized BiOBr/Cu<sub>2</sub>O heterostructured\nphotocatalyst demonstrated substantial activity in the degradation\nof both anionic and cationic dyes compared to the individual components.\nThe enhanced nanocomposite exhibited complete degradation of glyphosate\nin 10 min of light irradiation and demonstrated high stability after\nfive photocatalytic cycles. Our mechanistic and photoelectrochemical\nstudies suggest that establishing an S-scheme heterojunction between\nBiOBr and Cu<sub>2</sub>O enhances the separation of photogenerated\ncharge carriers and expands the redox potentials of the nanocomposite\nto allow high catalytic efficiency. These findings indicate that tuning\nthe design of metal oxide heterojunctions promises applications in\nthe remediation of a wide range of organic contaminants.