Design of 1D/2D Bi2S3/NiAl-LDH Heterojunction with Enhanced Photothermal-Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline

Langmuir. 2025 Jul 8;41(26):16809-16821. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c00780. Epub 2025 Jun 23.

Abstract

Rational design of a dual-functional photothermal-photocatalytic heterostructure has received considerable attention in recent years. Herein, we proposed a 1D/2D Bi2S3/NiAl-LDH heterostructure system through a two-step hydrothermal method and used it for tetracycline degradation. Structural and morphological characterization techniques such as XRD, XPS, SEM, and TEM corroborated the successful anchoring of LDH nanosheets on flower-like Bi2S3. Various Bi2S3/NiAl-LDH heterostructure samples were prepared with different Bi2S3 contents (5, 7, 10, and 15 wt %) and denoted as BSL-x (x = 1, 2, 3, 4). The optimum composite (BSL-2) achieved a remarkable degradation efficiency of 95.7% under full-spectrum light irradiation. The photocatalytic reactions proceeded based on a pseudo-first-order kinetics model. The rate constant value for BSL-2 was 0.0162 min-1, 4.90 and 4.26 times more than Bi2S3 and LDH, respectively. This considerable improvement in degradation efficiency is because of the intrinsic photothermal nature of bismuth sulfide, which enhances the light-harvesting capability of the Bi2S3/LDH heterostructure. Furthermore, 1D/2D heterojunctions caused charge carriers to separate and migrate faster, enhancing photocatalytic performance. Our article could yield a precious perspective on highly efficient 1D/2D heterojunctions based on the photothermal effect for various photocatalytic applications.