0D/3D Bi3TaO7/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction photocatalyst towards degradation of antibiotics coupled with simultaneous H2 evolution: In situ irradiated XPS investigation and S-scheme mechanism insight

[Display omitted] •A novel S-scheme Bi3TaO7/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction was fabricated.•Photodegradation of TC coupled with simultaneous HER was investigated by Bi3TaO7/ZnIn2S4.•Strong charge transfer efficiency existed in the interlayer of 0D Bi3TaO7 and 3D ZnIn2S4.•S-scheme mechanism was unearthed by in situ XPS analysis and DFT study. Photocatalytic pollutant degradation coupled hydrogen generation via water splitting utilizing solar energy is a highly promising method for solving the problems of environment pollution and energy shortage. However, restricted utilization efficiency of solar energy and quick recombination of photogenerated carriers of catalysts have restricted its application in photocatalytic pollutant degradation coupled hydrogen evolution. In this work, we synthesized a 0D Bi3TaO7 nanodots-decorated 3D ZnIn2S4 nanoflowers photocatalyst using a simple two-step solvothermal method. The simultaneously photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics (tetracycline) coupled with hydrogen generation was efficiently realized over the resultant S-scheme ZnIn2S4/Bi3TaO7 composites. The relationship between S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts and photocatalytic pollutant degradation coupled hydrogen evolution will be discussed. As a result, optimized ZB20 composite achieves highly efficient TC degradation rate >90% after ten cycles coupled with simultaneous H2 evolution (13.7 μmol g-1h−1) with Pt cocatalyst. Furthermore, interfacial transfer mechanism of S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts will be carefully examined combining in-situ characterization techniques and DFT study.