0D/2D Z-scheme heterojunctions of g-C3N4 quantum dots/ZnO nanosheets as a highly efficient visible-light photocatalyst

Constructing Z-scheme heterojunctions comprising of constituents with different dimensionality is an effective strategy to spatially separate electron and hole. To fully utilize the synergistic coupling effect of dimensionality, herein, we first immobilize g-C₃N₄ quantum dots (CNQDs) onto ZnO nanosheets with oxygen vacancies (OV-ZnO) to create a 0D/2D hybrid via a facile and cost-effective approach. The CNQDs/OV-ZnO heterojunctions display CNQDs content-dependent performance in visible-light photocatalytic activity. The optimal CNQDs/OV-ZnO heterojunction exhibits high photocatalytic activity for degradation of methyl blue and bisphenol A, where the kinetic constant is 11.4 and 32.5 fold of pure OV-ZnO, respectively. Photoluminescence, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and photocurrent verify that the photogenerated electron-hole pairs in this 0D/2D Z-scheme heterojunction have been effectively separated. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the synergistic effect of efficient Z-scheme charge separation, highly dispersed 0D CNQDs, coordinating sites of 2D OV-ZnO nanosheets and the strong coupling between them. In addition, the 3D flower-like structure constructed by 2D nanosheets greatly inhibits the leaching and loss of the photocatalyst in the recycling process, and ensures the high recycling ability of CNQDs/OV-ZnO. This work paves the way toward designing novel visible-light 0D/2D photocatalysts in the application of solar energy.