Core-Shell Structure-Induced Exciton Unidirectional Transport in Phc2cu for Enhanced Antibiotics Degradation

Abstract

For this work, a novel heterogeneous PhC2Cu/ZnO, function of facilitating unidirectional exciton transport, was successfully constructed. Leveraging ZnO’s robust electron transfer capability, highly efficient delocalization of photogenerated electrons, and rapid separation of photogenerated carriers from PhC2Cu was achieved, leading to improved photocatalytic performance. Remarkably, the addition of just 5% ZnO enhanced the photocatalytic degradation ability of CIP by 4.24 times (15 min, 95.2%). Besides, issues associated with excessively wide bandgap and photocorrosion in ZnO were subtly circumvented by our strategy design, while the electron delocalization effect within PhC2Cu contributes to its higher molecular stability, aiding in the photocatalyst’s utilization and recyclability. Moreover, the impact of different ZnO morphologies on exciton transport was systematically investigated, with the core-shell structure identified as most conducive to efficient interface electron transfer. Additionally, through in-situ XPS analysis, the exciton unidirectional transport effect was directly demonstrated.

Keywords: photocatalytic, Charge transfer, Copper-phenylacetylide, Molecular oxygen activation