Photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and synchronous degradation of organic pollutants by pg-C_(3)N_(4)/β-FeOOH S-scheme heterojunction

Crafting photoelectrocatalytic materials with robust oxidation-reduction properties for simultaneous hydrogen evolution and pollutant degradation poses a formidable challenge.In this study,a pg-C_(3)N_(4)/β-FeOOH S-scheme heterostructure with a special energy band structure was developed by anchoring porous pg-C_(3)N_(4)on needle shapedβ-FeOOH.Functioning as a hole extraction layer,needle-leaf-likeβ-FeOOH can facilitate efficient hole migration and enhance charge transport.Remarkably,the optimized 0.2-pg-C_(3)N_(4)/β-FeOOH could degrade 78%of ofloxacin(OFLO)in 90 min.The organic pollutants could absorb a large number of holes,which prompted a greater proportion of photogenerated electrons to actively participate in the hydrogen evolution reaction at the cathode.Consequently,the hydrogen production of 0.2-pg-C_(3)N_(4)/β-FeOOH reached 1452.88μmol cm^(-2)h^(-1),exhibiting a notable increase of 61.81-165.12μmol cm^(-2)h^(-1)compared with that in the absence of pollutants.Experimental and theoretical calculation results underscore that this investigation is grounded in a distinctive electron and hole dual channel transfer mechanism.These findings offer novel insights for the future development of S-scheme heterojunction photoelectrocatalytic materials capable of concurrently degrading pollutants and promoting hydrogen evolution.