Boosted photocatalytic decomposition of nocuous organic gases over tricomposites of N-doped carbon quantum dots, ZnFe2O4, and BiOBr with different junctions

Herein, the effect of material structure on photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of nocuous organic gases (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) and o-xylene (XYL)) was investigated by synthesizing tricomposite photocatalysts of N-doped carbon quantum dots, ZnFe2O4, and BiOBr (NCQDs/ZFO/BOB) with different junctions. The NCQDs/ZFO/BOB material (NCQDs/ZFO/BOB1) synthesized using a one-pot method revealed the highest photocatalytic efficiency. The NCQDs in NCQDs/ZFO/BOB1 exhibited photoluminescence property that expanded the photo-absorption nature and acted as a mediator to enhance the Z-scheme charge transfer between ZFO and BOB. The photocatalytic activity exhibited by NCQDs/ZFO/BOB1 was higher than that exhibited by the selected reference materials (CQDs/ZFO/BOB, NCQDs/BOB, ZFO/BOB, BOB, NCQDs/ZFO, and ZFO). Results showed that the decomposition efficiencies of TMB and XYL in the presence of NCQDs/ZFO/BOB1 under specified operational conditions were 94.5% and 72.5%, respectively. Moreover, the synthesized NCQDs/ZFO/BOB photocatalysts displayed excellent stability. Herein, the conversion ratios of TMB and XYL into CO2 with NCQDs/ZFO/BOB1 and the intermediates formed during photocatalysis were assessed. Furthermore, a potential mechanism for the NCQDs/ZFO/BOB1-catalyzed organic gas decomposition was proposed. The hybridization access introduced herein thus provides a method for the intelligent synthesis of a new type of multicomponent nanocomposites for environmental remediation.