Enhanced photoelectrocatalytic degradation of tetrabromobisphenol a from tip-decorated ZnO nanorod electrode with Bi2S3 nanoparticles

Abstract Tip-decorated ZnO/Bi2S3 photoelectrode was synthesized on a FTO substrate from chemical bath deposition and electrochemical deposition to investigate the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). XRD, SEM, UV–vis and PL techniques were employed to evaluated the crystal structure, surface morphology, light absorbance properties and efficiency of carriers’ separation of the obtained electrode, respectively. The ZnO/Bi2S3 photoelectrode yielded a photocurrent density of 15.3 mA/cm2 upon ultraviolet and visible light irradiation, which was 6.6 and 10.9 times that of the original ZnO and Bi2S3, respectively. The enhanced photoelectrochemical properties is due to the improved light absorption of Bi2S3 nanoparticles and accelerated electron‐transfer pathway of ZnO nanorods. The stability of the photoelectrode was evaluated by recycling degradation experiments for 3 times. The intermediates of TBBPA degradation were also identified and a possible pathway was proposed.