In situ growth of S-scheme Zn2SnO4/Tb2O3 heterostructures for highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation and bacterial inactivation

Date

2026-02-01

Author

Ates Sonmezoglu, Ozlem
Kamo, Alaa
Karaaslan, Gizem
Ercan, Batur
Sonmezoglu, Savas

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It is critical to develop highly effective photocatalysts capable of efficiently utilizing visible light and promoting the rapid movement of photoinduced charge carriers to effectively eliminate the infection-causing bacteria. For this reason, we developed S-scheme Zn2SnO4/Tb2O3 heterostructures through in situ growth by incorporating terbium (Tb3+) ions to Zn2SnO4 host matrix. We also explored in detail their photodynamic activities on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) organic pollutant and elimination of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. Photodegradation experiments demonstrated that the Tb5@ZTO sample exhibited a superior photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 99.7 % under visible light within just 80 min, along with excellent reusability. This performance is 2.6 times higher than that of the pristine Tbfree@ZTO sample. Notably, Tb5@ZTO sample demonstrated 100 % and 96.5 % antibacterial activity under visible light after 3 h of incubation against E. coli, and for 5 h of incubation against S. aureus, representing 2.78- and 2.53-fold improvements compared to the pristine sample. The strong antibacterial activity was attributed to the efficient separation of photoinduced electron-hole (e−/h+) pairs, suppression of recombination, increased oxygen vacancies, and the high surface area of the porous structures, all of which collectively enhance the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, the cytocompatibility of the heterostructures was confirmed. Based on these findings, Zn2SnO4/Tb2O3 heterostructures are regarded as promising antibacterial therapeutic agents and may possess significant potential in the healing of bacteria-infected wounds.

Subject Keywords

In-situ growth, Photocatalytic degradation, Photodynamic antibacterial activity, S-scheme heterojunctions, Zn2SnO4/Tb2O3

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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105017850106&origin=inward
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/116261

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Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Article