One-step in situ hydrothermal fabrication of octahedral CdS/SnIn4S8 nano-heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic treatment of nitrophenol and real pharmaceutical wastewater

A novel SnIn4S8/ZnFe2O4 S-scheme heterojunction with excellent magnetic properties and photocatalytic degradation activity for tetracycline

The development of efficient and economical photocatalysts is considered a promising strategy for pollution remediation. Magnetically separable SnIn4S8/ZnFe2O4 composites (SIS/ZFO) were prepared by combining SIS with ZFO. The composite with a 30% ZFO mass ratio (SIS/ZFO-30) was the most effective and achieved 60% removal of tetracycline (TC) in 120 min. It has a rate constant of 7.94 × 10-3 min-1, which is 6.3 and 27.2 times higher than those of pure SIS and pure ZFO, respectively. The improved photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the formation of S-scheme heterojunctions between SIS and ZFO, which results in the strong absorption of visible light, the enhanced separation of electron-hole pairs, and the higher redox ability of photoinduced charges. Additionally, SIS/ZFO composites have excellent magnetic properties and high stability, and the recovered samples still retained good photocatalytic degradation performances after four cycles of experiments. Thus, the coupling of SIS with ZFO provides a valuable strategy for enhancing photocatalytic potential and offers a promising pathway for water remediation.

Designing advanced S-scheme CdS QDs/La-Bi2WO6 photocatalysts for efficient degradation of RhB

Finding effective strategies to design efficient photocatalysts and decompose refractory organic compounds in wastewater is a challenging problem. Herein, by coupling element doping and constructing heterostructures, S-scheme CdS QDs/La-Bi2WO6 (CS/LBWO) photocatalysts are designed and synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. As a result, the RhB degradation efficiency of the optimized 5% CS/LBWO reached 99% within 70 min of illumination with excellent stability and recyclability. CS/LBWO shows improvement in the adsorption range of visible light and promotes electron-hole pair generation/migration/separation, attributing the superior degradation performance. The degradation RhB mechanism is proposed by a free radical capture experiment, electron paramagnetic resonance, and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry results, indicating that h+ and •O2 - play a significant role during four degradation processes: de-ethylation, chromophore cleavage, ring opening, and mineralization. Based on in situ irradiated X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Mulliken electronegativity theory, and the work function results, the S-scheme heterojunction of CS/LBWO promotes the transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and promotes the generation of reactive radicals. This work not only reports that 5% CS/LBWO is a promising photocatalyst for degradation experiments but also provides an approach to design advanced photocatalysts by coupling element doping and constructing heterostructures.

Heterojunction photocatalysts for the removal of nitrophenol: A systematic review

Nitrophenols are the most widely used raw materials in the chemical, pesticide, and pharmaceutical industries. Due to improper waste management and excessive usage, nitrophenol is listed as a priority pollutant and garnered global research attention. This review highlights the recent progress on heterojunction photocatalysts toward eliminating nitrophenols. The detailed mechanisms of the electron-hole pair separation using different heterojunctions such as traditional, p-n, Z-scheme, S-scheme, and Schottky heterojunctions are elaborated. The performance of the photocatalysts is evaluated using quantum efficiency. Among the heterojunctions, Z-scheme exhibited maximum removal efficiency of 100% and found superior over other heterojunctions. Even though heterojunctions exhibit good efficiency, the reusability of the heterojunction photocatalyst is not reported beyond 5 cycles. Further research is indeed to develop a highly reusable photocatalyst for environmental remediation.

Efficient mineralization of TBBPA via an integrated photocatalytic reduction/oxidation process mediated by MoS2/SnIn4S8 photocatalyst

Currently, Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) has been regarded as an emerging organic pollutant and efficient TBBPA elimination technology has been attracting increasing attention. In this work, a novel photocatalyst, MoS₂/SnIn₄S₈, was synthesized through hydrothermal method by introducing few-layer MoS₂ nanosheets and then employed to establish an integrated photocatalytic reduction/oxidation system for the remediation of TBBPA under visible light. The characterization results demonstrated that the few-layer MoS₂ nanosheets were well combined with SnIn₄S₈ and significantly lowered the recombination rate of the photo-induced electron and holes, leading to outstanding photocatalytic performance of MoS₂/SnIn₄S₈ composite. Besides, the MoS₂/SnIn₄S₈ composite also exhibited excellent reusability (over 10 runs) and stability. The TBBPA degradation experiments showed that the integrated photocatalytic reduction/oxidation system was able to completely degrade TBBPA and mineralize its byproducts (60.2 ± 2.9%). In the photocatalytic reduction, due to the cleavage of C-Br bonds by photo-induced electrons, TBBPA underwent stepwise debromination and finally transferred into BPA in 6 h. In the following photocatalytic oxidation, under the attack of reactive oxygen species (¹O₂, h⁺,OH and O₂^-), BPA was first decomposed into aromatic products (such as phenol, benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and so on) via C-C bond cracking and hydroxylation, and then further oxidized into organic acids like maleic acid and muconic acid through ring-opening, and finally mineralized into CO₂ and H₂O. What was noteworthy was that the final effluent from the photocatalytic reduction/oxidation system showed no toxicity to the luminescent bacteria.

Visible-light-responsive Z-scheme system for photocatalytic lignocellulose-to-H2 conversion

A Z-scheme system was successfully constructed for visible-light-driven photocatalytic H₂ production from lignocelluloses, the highest H₂ evolution rate of this Z-scheme system is 5.3 and 1.6 μmol h^-1 in α-cellulose and poplar wood chip aqueous solutions, respectively, under visible light irradiation.

Efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution and Cr(VI) reduction under visible light using a novel Z-scheme SnIn4S8/CeO2 heterojunction photocatalysts

Semiconductor photocatalysis technology is a promising method for hydrogen production and water pollution treatment. Here, the SnIn₄S₈/CeO₂ (SISC) composites were fabricated by a stirring and calcination method, and the mass ratio of SnIn₄S₈ to CeO₂ was optimized. The 50 wt% SISC heterojunction photocatalyst has the highest visible light catalytic activity. The degradation rate of hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) is 98.8% in 75 min of light irradiation, which is 2.48 times that of pure CeO₂. Besides, the 50 wt% SISC composite photocatalyst also has the highest photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency (0.6193 mmol g^-1 h^-1), which exhibits a higher photocatalytic activity than pure CeO₂ and SnIn₄S₈. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the Z-scheme heterojunction structure between CeO₂ and SnIn₄S₈, which can effectively separate and transfer photo-generated charges, thereby reducing the recombination of photo-generated carriers. We hope this work can provide ideas for constructing Z-scheme heterojunction structures and improving photocatalytic activity under visible light.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Ethiofencarb by a Visible Light-Driven SnIn4S8 Photocatalyst

This work reports the preparation and detailed characterization of stannum indium sulfide (SnIn4S8) semiconductor photocatalyst for degradation of ethiofencarb (toxic insecticide) under visible-light irradiation. The as-prepared SnIn4S8 showed catalytic efficiency of 98% in 24 h under optimal operating conditions (pH = 3, catalyst dosage of 0.5 g L-1). The photodegradation reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The major intermediates have been identified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. •O2- and •OH radicals appeared to be the primary active species in the degradation process as revealed by scavenger and electronic spin resonance studies, while photogenerated holes had a secondary role in this process. A plausible mechanism involving two routes was proposed for ethiofencarb degradation by SnIn4S8 after identifying the major intermediate species: oxidative cleavage of the CH2-S and the amide bonds of the carbamate moiety. Lastly, SnIn4S8 was found to be efficient, stable, and reusable in treating real water samples in three successive photodegradation experiments. This study demonstrates the prospect of SnIn4S8 photocatalysis in treatment of natural and contaminated water from extremely toxic organic carbamates as ethiofencarb.

Preparation of spherical filler-like ZnFe2O4/Bi2MoO6 surrounded by nanosheets and its photocatalytic applications

In this article, the spherical filler-like ZnFe₂O₄/Bi₂MoO₆ (ZFO/BMO) surrounded by nanosheets were synthesized by a solvothermal method using spherical ZnFe₂O₄ as a matrix. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) were used to characterize the prepared samples. The photocatalytic performance of the material was detected under 420 nm visible light by Rhodamine B (RhB). The degradation results indicated that the ZFO/BMO photocatalyst with 20% ZnFe₂O₄ content (ZFO/BMO-2) demonstrated highly efficient performance. The constructed Z-type ZFO/BMO heterojunction lengthens the visible light absorption threshold and improves the photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, ZFO/BMO heterojunction composite photocatalyst can be recycled effectively by applying an appropriate external magnetic field. It has important research value in photocatalysis and recycling.

Rapidly photocatalytic mineralization of typical veterinary drugs with the SnO2/SnIn4S8 composite

Considering the high environmental risk, the remediation of veterinary drug pollutants aroused numerous concerning. In this paper, a novel photocatlyst, SnO₂/SnIn₄S₈, was fabricated by in situ precipitation and hydrothermal method and then employed to simulate photocatalytic degradation of olaquindox under visible light. The SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS and electrochemical results clearly showed that the n-type heterojunction between SnO₂ and SnIn₄S₈ was successfully constructed, which greatly reduce the recombination of the photogenic electron and holes, leading to the improvement of photocalytic performance and stability (recycled over 10 times). Besides, the SnO₂/SnIn₄S₈ composite also exhibited good ability to mineralize the olaquindox. Under the optimal condition (pH of 3, 1 g L^-1 of 30 wt% SnO₂/SnIn₄S₈ and 10 mg L^-1 of initial olaquindox concentration), the olaquindox could be fully and rapidly degraded in 25 min, and completely mineralized in 2 h (99.3 ± 1.7%). LC-QTOF-MS analysis evidently displayed 10 intermediates during the olaquindox degradation. In addition, with the attack of the reactive oxygen species (h⁺, •OH and •O₂^-), olaquindox could be effectively decomposed via deoxygenation, hydroxylation and carboxylation reactions. Importantly, compared to photodegradation, the photocatalytic process was an ideal way to eliminate the olaquindox form water because it could avoid the accumulation of toxic byproducts.

Fabrication of MOF-derived tubular In2O3@SnIn4S8 hybrid: Heterojunction formation and promoted photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light

Tubular In₂O₃@SnIn₄S₈ hierarchical hybrid photocatalyst was firstly fabricated by a two-step method. The morphology and composition were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD results show that the obtained In₂O₃ microtubes were highly crystallized, while the SnIn₄S₈ flakes prepared at low temperature were poorly crystallized. The SEM image of the hybrid shows that numerous SnIn₄S₈ nanoflakes were assembled over the surface of In₂O₃ microtubes. In₂O₃ served as dispersing-templates have reduced the agglomeration of SnIn₄S₈ flakes. Meanwhile, the heterojunctions formed at the interfaces between In₂O₃ and SnIn₄S₈ could facilitate the interfacial charge transfer, as well as promote the photocatalytic activity of the hybrid. In the treatment of Cr(VI)-containing wastewater, the In₂O₃@SnIn₄S₈ hybrid not only exhibited strong adsorption ability, but also showed remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with pure SnIn₄S₈. The photocatalytic reaction constant k for In₂O₃@SnIn₄S₈ was approximately 2.54 times higher than that of SnIn₄S₈. The efficient activity of this hybrid photocatalyst should be ascribed to the promoted separation efficiency of electron/hole pairs, which was proved by the following three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectra (3D EEMs), photocurrent responds, and EIS characterizations.

Preparation of SnIn4S8/TiO2 Nanotube Photoanode and Its Photocathodic Protection for Q235 Carbon Steel Under Visible Light

TiO₂ is an attractive semiconductor suitable for photocathodic protection, but its weak absorption of visible light and low quantum yield limit its usage. Here, a new heterostructured SnIn₄S₈ nanosheet/TiO₂ nanotube photoanode was prepared and its photocathodic protection performance was analyzed. SnIn₄S₈ nanosheets were uniformly deposited on the surface of the TiO₂ nanotube via a solvothermal treatment. The SnIn₄S₈/TiO₂ composite exhibited better photocathodic protection performance compared with pure TiO₂ nanotubes, owing to its good visible-light response and photogenerated carrier separation efficiency. Moreover, the composite exhibited a maximum photocurrent density of 100 μA cm^-2 for a 6 h solvothermal reaction under visible light irradiation. The negative shift of the photoinduced potential of Q235 carbon steel connected to the composite could reach 0.45 V versus SCE. Therefore, the SnIn₄S₈/TiO₂ composite can offer efficient photocathodic protection for Q235 carbon steel against corrosion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. This work provides a new approach for the development of high-efficient photoanode materials for the photocathodic protection of metals.

Peroxymonosulfate-enhanced photocatalysis by carbonyl-modified g-C3N4 for effective degradation of the tetracycline hydrochloride

In this work, carbonyl-modified g-C₃N₄ (CO-C₃N₄) is prepared through one-step calcination of the melamine-oxalic acid aggregates. The visible light-assisted photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) for CO-C₃N₄ is significantly enhanced by introducing the peroxymonosulfate (PMS), and the apparent rate constant is greatly increased from 0.01966 min^-1 in CO-C₃N₄/vis system to 0.07688 min^-1 in CO-C₃N₄/PMS/vis system. It is found that carbonyl for CO-C₃N₄ might offer possible reactive sites for PMS activation and collection sites of photo-generated electrons, greatly accelerating carrier's separation for PMS activation. The favorable conditions, such as the higher catalyst dosage, higher PMS amount and alkaline pH, contribute to TCH degradation. The deleterious effects of co-existing anions on the TCH degradation efficiency are ranked in a decline: H₂PO₄^- > SO₄^2- > HCO₃^- > NO₃^- > Cl^-, and it may be affected by the type and amounts of anions and active radicals generated. The radical trapping tests and electron spin resonance (ESR) detection display that the O₂^-, h⁺, ¹O₂, OH and SO₄^- all contribute to TCH degradation. Meanwhile, possible degradation mechanism, intermediates and degradation pathway of TCH are revealed in CO-C₃N₄/PMS/vis system. This study will offer a new insight for constructing PMS activation with carbonyl modified g-C₃N₄ photocatalysis system to achieve effective treatment of organic wastewater.

Recent advances in surface and interface design of photocatalysts for the degradation of volatile organic compounds

Photocatalysis has attracted wide attention in eliminating volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This paper pays attention to the relationship between structure and performance of photocatalysts based on the fact that catalytic reactions arise on the surface of catalysts and the interface structure of photocatalysts plays key role in transfer efficiency of charges carriers. This review summarizes various surface/interface designs including unsaturated coordination such as oxygen vacancies, surface halogenations, and heterojunctions, homojunctions, facets, etc., as well as the application in photocatalytic degradation of VOCs. This paper reviews the influence of surface and interface properties of materials on VOCs molecules, effective strategies to promote the decomposition of VOCs from the perspectives of VOCs activation, reaction barrier etc., and presents various methods of photocatalyst design appropriately. The degradation path of highly toxic benzene VOCs are also summarized. In addition, the possible problems and suggestions for photocatalytic degradation of VOCs are proposed.

Treatment technologies for pharmaceutical effluents-A scientometric study

Treatment of highly polluted pharmaceutical effluents is a major challenge all over the world for technical and economic considerations. In this study, scientometric study is performed on the application of various methods for the treatment of pharmaceutical effluents to explore further developments. In this regard, a total of 1964 documents were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database using a set of relevant keywords to cover all published documents. The extracted documents were subjected to scientometric study including the contributed authors, publications, citations received, contributing countries and institutions as well as the subject categories. From the data retrieved, the status of scientific knowledge on the subject history and current trends were identified and scientific gaps were critically discussed. Publications in this area started to appear since the sixties and were considerably promoted around the beginning of 2000s. Scientific publications of years 1960-2018 followed sigmoidal trend. It was found that leading countries are China and the United States in terms of scientific output on treatment technologies for pharmaceutical effluents. Among the active journals published, "Water Research" has received the most citations. A detailed discussion on the science and developments in this field is provided including the potential applications of scientometry.

A Fenton-Like Nanocatalyst Based on Easily Separated Magnetic Nanorings for Oxidation and Degradation of Dye Pollutant

In this study, uniform Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanorings (Fe₃O₄-MNRs) were prepared through a simple hydrothermal method. The morphology, magnetic properties, and structure of the product were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The Fe₃O₄-MNRs were used as Fenton-like catalysts in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and showed excellent Fenton-catalytic activity for degradation of organic dyes such as Methylene blue (MB), Rhodamine B (RhB), and Bromophenol blue (BPB). Furthermore, the obtained Fe₃O₄-MNRs could be recycled after used for several times and still remained in a relative high activity and could rapidly be separated from the reaction medium using a magnet without considerable loss. All results reveal that Fe₃O₄-MNRs have potential for the treatment of dyes pollutants.

Efficient visible light-driven core–shell-structured ZnS@Ag2S nanoparticles-anchored reduced graphene oxide for the reduction of Cr(vi)

Synthesis of a ZnS@Ag₂S/RGO nanocomposite with high photocatalytic performance for the removal of Cr(vi) based on the photo-induced interfacial charge transfer.

Novel 2D hybrids composed of SnIn4S8 nanoplates on BiOBr nanosheets for enhanced photocatalytic applications

In the last ten years, bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr) has attracted wide attention due to its superior optoelectronic property. However, its practical application still suffers from slow carrier transport and high carrier recombination. Here we report a kind of novel tannum indium sulfide (SnIn4S8)/BiOBr hybrid prepared by a two-step hydrothermal method. The results showed that small amount of SnIn4S8 had no influence on the crystal phase of BiOBr, but the morphology could be regulated from nanosheet to nanoflower. Specially, SnIn4S8 exerted a slight effect on the light absorption and band gap of BiOBr. Importantly, SnIn4S8/BiOBr hybrids exhibited remarkable enhancement of the photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of rhodamin B (RhB) dye molecules. SnIn4S8/BiOBr-0.20 with 99.8% degradation efficiency had the highest photocatalytic activity within 40 min, while it was only 71.1% for pure BiOBr. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to efficient interfacial transfer and low carrier recombination. This work will help us understand the photocatalytic mechanism of bismuth oxyhalide hybrids.

Are pharmaceuticals removal and membrane fouling in electromembrane bioreactor affected by current density?

Pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) have been detected at significant concentrations in various natural and artificial aquatic environments. In this study, electro membrane bioreactor (eMBR) technology was used to treat simulated municipal wastewater containing widely-used pharmaceuticals namely amoxicillin (AMX), diclofenac (DCF) and carbamazepine (CBZ). The effects of varying current density on the removal of PhACs (AMX, DCF and CBZ) and conventional pollutants (chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), humic substances, ammonia nitrogen (NH₄-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N) and orthophosphate (PO₄-P) species) were examined. High COD and DOC removal efficiencies (~100%) were obtained in all the experimental runs regardless of applied current density. In contrast, enhanced removal efficiencies for AMX, DCF and CBZ were achieved at high current densities. Membrane fouling rate in eMBR with respect to conventional MBR was reduced by 24, 44 and 45% at current densities of 0.3, 0.5 and 1.15 mA/cm², respectively. The mechanism for pharmaceutical removal in this study proceeded by: (1) charge neutralization between negatively-charged pharmaceutical compounds and positive electro-generated aluminium coagulants to form larger particles and (2) size exclusion by membrane filtration.

One-pot sonochemical synthesis of 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere with enhanced photocatalytic activity

A highly uniform 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere was prepared by sonochemical method with the existence of β-dextrin. The 3D flower-like hierarchical structure can be ascribed to the existence of β-dextrin, which provides nucleation sites for the growth of nanosheets because of the strong interaction between β-dextrin and Ag⁺. The 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microspheres were assembled by numerous interleaving nanosheet petals with small thickness. Benefiting from the unique structural features, the as-prepared 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere exhibited higher degradation efficiency with degrading 98.17% of methylene blue (MB) and 88.50% of tetracycline (TC) within 40 min, which were both remarkably higher than those of irregular AgCl under visible light irradiation. Besides, the photocatalytic degradation rate constant of 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere (0.063 min^-1) for MB was 3.94 times higher than that of irregular AgCl (0.016 min^-1). Moreover, a possible mechanism for the formation and excellent photocatalytic performance of 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere was also proposed.

Room-temperature fabrication of bismuth oxybromide/oxyiodide photocatalyst and efficient degradation of phenolic pollutants under visible light

Bismuth oxybromide/oxyiodide (Bi₄O₅Br_xI_2-x) photocatalysts were successfully fabricated using a facile homogeneous precipitation method at room temperature. The obtained Bi₄O₅Br_xI_2-x demonstrated highly enhanced visible-light performances compared with Bi₄O₅Br₂ and Bi₄O₅I₂. The poducts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The DRS analysis shows that the band gap structures of Bi₄O₅Br_xI_2-x have been gradually modulated by changing the Br/I molar ratio. The obtained Bi₄O₅Br_xI_2-x samples have exhibited efficient photocatalytic activities in decomposing resorcinol, o-phenylphenol, and 4-tert-butylphenol. The Br/I molar ratio has great influence on the activity of the photocatalysts, and Bi₄O₅Br_0.6I_1.4 exhibited the best activity which was about 2.77 and 1.80 times higher than that of Bi₄O₅Br₂ and Bi₄O₅I₂, respectively. The degradation intermediates were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS), and the possible degradation pathway of resorcinol over Bi₄O₅Br_xI_2-x photocatalysts was proposed. The strong visible light absorption, high charge separation efficiency, and proper band potentials should be responsible for the excellent activity of Bi₄O₅Br_xI_2-x photocatalyst. Trapping experiments using radical scavengers confirmed the generation of O₂^-, OH, and h⁺, but only O₂^- and h⁺ have played the chief role in removing organic pollutants from water.

Reduced graphene oxide-mediated Z-scheme BiVO4/CdS nanocomposites for boosted photocatalytic decomposition of harmful organic pollutants

The efficient photocatalytic degradation of harmful organic pollutants (isoniazid (ISN) and 1,4-dioxane (DX)) via the Z-scheme electron transfer mechanism was accomplished using a photostable composite photocatalyst consisting of BiVO₄, CdS, and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Compared to their pristine counterparts, the RGO-mediated Z-scheme CdS/BiVO₄ (CdS/RGO-BiVO₄) nanocomposites exhibited superior degradation activities, mainly attributed to the prolonged charge separation. RGO was found to be involved in visible-light harvesting and acted as a solid-state electron mediator at the CdS/BiVO₄ interface to realize an effective Z-scheme electron transfer pathway, avoid photocatalyst self-oxidation, and lengthen the life span of charge carriers. The results of reactive species scavenging experiments, photoluminescence measurements, and transient photocurrent measurements, as well as the calculated band potentials of the synthesized photocatalysts, supported the Z-scheme electron/hole pair separation mechanism. Additionally, the intermediates formed during the degradation of ISN and DX were identified, and a possible fragmentation pattern was proposed. This systematic work aims to develop photostable Z-scheme composites as unique photocatalytic systems for the efficient removal of harmful organic pollutants.