A novel visible-light-driven Z-scheme C 3 N 5 /BiVO 4 heterostructure with enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance.

As a visible-light response semiconductor materials, bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) is extensively applied in photodegradation organic dye field. In this study, we synthesized C 3 N 5 nanosheets and coupled with decahedral BiVO 4 to construct a Z-scheme C 3 N 5 /BiVO 4 heterostructure with close interface contact. By introducing C 3 N 5 into BiVO 4 , the built Z-scheme transfer pathway provides silky channel for charge carrier migration between different moieties and enables photoexcited electrons and holes accumulated on the surface of BiVO 4 and C 3 N 5 . The accelerated separation of charge carriers ensures C 3 N 5 /BiVO 4 heterostructures with a powerful oxidation capacity compared with pure BiVO 4 . Due to the synergistic effect in Z-scheme heterostructure, the C 3 N 5 /BiVO 4 demonstrated an improved photodegradation ability of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) that of bare BiVO 4 .