Enhancing charge transfer in 0D/2D cobalt sulfide/boron-doped graphitic carbon nitride heterojunction photocatalyst for degradation of organic pollutants under LED illumination

Semiconductor-based photocatalytic processes are widely applied as ecofriendly technology for degrading organic pollutants. Establishing photocatalytic heterojunctions with Z-type photocarriers transfer pathways is projected to be a superb strategy to enhance photocatalytic behavior. In this paper, novel and stable (0D/2D) heterojunctions of CoS-embedded boron-doped g-C3N4 (CoS/BCN) with a high rate of charges transfer/separation were assembled for degradation of malachite green dye (MG). The CoS/BCN photocatalyst achieves a photodegradation efficiency of 96.9 % within 1 h of LED illumination, which is 2.5 and 1.4-fold enhancement compared with bare g-C3N4 and BCN, respectively. Besides, the results of species-trapping trials exhibited that •O2− and at a lower degree, photogenerated holes were mainly in charge of the boosted performance. In light of the above results of the trapping experiments, the charge transfer mechanism was discussed, and the Z-form heterojunction between BCN and CoS was taken as the reason for enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency. The stability of the CoS/BCN hybrid was also checked, showing excellent photostability performance after five degradation rounds. [Display omitted] •Novel Z-type heterojunctions composed of 0D CoS decorated on 2D boron-doped g-C3N4 were innovatively suggested.•CoS/BCN photocatalyst possesses exceptional activity toward MG dye degradation.•CoS/BCN provide rapid charge transfer and low recombination through a Z-type pathway mechanism.•The CoS/BCN heterojunction afforded strong stability after five rounds.