Self-assembled oxygen vacancies modified hierarchical hollow tubular Bi2WO6/In2O3 Z-scheme heterojunction for optimized photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin

The elaborate design of efficient strategy to facilitate interfacial and spatial charge separation is a prospective strategy for the enhancement of photodegradation activity. Herein, the oxygen vacancies modified hierarchical hollow tubular Bi2WO6/In2O3 heterostructure was synthesized via an in situ self-assembly method using MIL-68(In) as precursors and structural component, which can modulate charge redistribution for effective photocatalytic norfloxacin degradation (90.8%) in 50 min. The XRD, ESR, HRTEM, and XPS characterizations significantly prove the existence of oxygen vacancies and the successful construction of Bi2WO6/In2O3 heterojunction. Furthermore, the optimal BWO/In2O3-25 catalyst exhibits excellent degradation efficiency of NOR in practical water matrices and superior decomposition performances of tetracycline (82.1%), ciprofloxacin (82.4%), levofloxacin (88.2%), methyl orange (86.3%), methylene blue (93.2%), and rhodamine B (94.7%). Importantly, the toxicity of NOR can be ignored after the degradation. Capture experiments and DFT calculations collaboratively demonstrate the Z-scheme charge migration mechanism. This study presents a novel opinion for rational developing oxygen vacancies modified Z-scheme heterojunction with unique spatial and interfacial charge flow steering via a facile strategy.