Enhanced photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4/g-C3N4/WO3 ternary dual S-Scheme heterojunctions for polymer wastewater purification

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4/g-C3N4/WO3 ternary dual S-Scheme heterojunctions for polymer wastewater purification | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Enhanced photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4/g-C3N4/WO3 ternary dual S-Scheme heterojunctions for polymer wastewater purification Deng Gu, Yang Bai, Jianing He, Xian Chen, Daoxiong Li, Linfeng Wu, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7909662/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Defect engineering and dual electric fields can direct interfacial charge migration and separation while supplying the driving force for photogenerated carriers, thus serving as an effective strategy to accelerate photocatalysis. Here, a ZnIn2S4/g-C3N4/WO3 (denoted as ZIS/CN/WO3) dual S-Scheme heterojunction was synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method and subsequent thermal treatment, with sulfur vacancies in ZIS used to modulate the internal electric field and drive carrier migration. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic performance of ZIS/CN/WO3 was evaluated through the degradation of methyl orange (MO), the reduction of Cr(VI), and the degradation of sulfonated phenolic–formaldehyde resin (SMP). The MO degradation rate of ZIS/CN/WO3 (0.058 min-1) was 4.46, 9.67, 14.5, and 2.15 times higher than those of pure ZIS (0.013 min-1), CN (0.006 min-1), WO3 (0.004 min-1), and ZIS/CN (0.027 min-1), respectively. Similarly, the Cr(VI) reduction rate (0.051 min-1) exceeded ZIS (0.022 min-1), CN (0.009 min-1), WO3 (0.004 min-1), and ZIS/CN (0.030 min-1) by 2.32, 5.67, 12.75, and 1.70 times. Notably, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) after SMP degradation by ZIS/CN/WO3 (0.313 h-1) was 1.86, 2.78, 7.45, and 1.24 times higher than that of ZIS (0.168 h-1), CN (0.113 h-1), WO3 (0.042 h-1), and ZIS/CN (0.252 h-1), respectively. In addition, the band-gap analysis, internal electric fields, and surface potential mapping indicate that the enhanced activity of ZIS/CN/WO3 stems from an S-Scheme heterojunction with sulfur vacancies and dual electric fields. This study provides insights into the application of dual S-Scheme heterojunctions for wastewater treatment in abandoned drilling fluids. Composites Wastewater purification Internal electric fields Dual S-Scheme Polymers Degradation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 23 Oct, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 20 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7909662","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":535632674,"identity":"8c27d848-d325-4355-9217-710a4c1b8af3","order_by":0,"name":"Deng Gu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Southwest Petroleum University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Deng","middleName":"","lastName":"Gu","suffix":""},{"id":535632675,"identity":"f10e6acd-3c70-4472-b806-923c8b03880d","order_by":1,"name":"Yang 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Here, a ZnIn2S4/g-C3N4/WO3 (denoted as ZIS/CN/WO3) dual S-Scheme heterojunction was synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method and subsequent thermal treatment, with sulfur vacancies in ZIS used to modulate the internal electric field and drive carrier migration. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic performance of ZIS/CN/WO3 was evaluated through the degradation of methyl orange (MO), the reduction of Cr(VI), and the degradation of sulfonated phenolic–formaldehyde resin (SMP). The MO degradation rate of ZIS/CN/WO3 (0.058 min-1) was 4.46, 9.67, 14.5, and 2.15 times higher than those of pure ZIS (0.013 min-1), CN (0.006 min-1), WO3 (0.004 min-1), and ZIS/CN (0.027 min-1), respectively. Similarly, the Cr(VI) reduction rate (0.051 min-1) exceeded ZIS (0.022 min-1), CN (0.009 min-1), WO3 (0.004 min-1), and ZIS/CN (0.030 min-1) by 2.32, 5.67, 12.75, and 1.70 times. Notably, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) after SMP degradation by ZIS/CN/WO3 (0.313 h-1) was 1.86, 2.78, 7.45, and 1.24 times higher than that of ZIS (0.168 h-1), CN (0.113 h-1), WO3 (0.042 h-1), and ZIS/CN (0.252 h-1), respectively. In addition, the band-gap analysis, internal electric fields, and surface potential mapping indicate that the enhanced activity of ZIS/CN/WO3 stems from an S-Scheme heterojunction with sulfur vacancies and dual electric fields. 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