Photocatalysis serves as an eff ective and environmentally friendly approach for the treatment of wastewater and water, with

ZnO-based photocatalysts exhibiting signifi cant effi cacy in this area. Consequently, we present a novel method that integrates

solvothermal, calcination, and hydrothermal processes to produce a ZnO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /AgFeO 2 ternary photocatalyst, which

has shown a remarkable photocatalytic activity in eliminating methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB), and methylene

blue (MB) when exposed to persulfate (SO 5

2 ⁻) under visible light. The ZnO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /AgFeO 2 photocatalysts facilitate the

activation of SO 5

2 ⁻ ions, thereby enhancing the degradation of pollutants under visible light exposure. In the presence of

the ZnO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /AgFeO 2 (20%)/SO 5

2 ⁻ system, MB was entirely decomposed within 75 min, whereas only 39.8% of MB

was eliminated using the ZnO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /AgFeO 2 (20%) sample without SO 5

2 ⁻. This indicates a synergistic eff ect between

SO 5

2 ⁻ activation and visible-light photocatalysis in the ZnO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /AgFeO 2 (20%) system. The enhanced photocatalytic

performance of this system is attributed to the activation of SO5 2 ⁻ ions by electrons, leading to the generation of sulfate

radicals ( ⦁ SO 4 ⁻), improved charge carrier separation, and increased visible light absorption by Bi 2 MoO 6 and AgFeO 2 . Ultimately,

the proposed mechanism for the signifi cantly enhanced photocatalytic activities involves multiple Z-scheme/type II

heterojunctions. The fi ndings of this study confi rm that the ZnO/Bi 2 MoO 6 /AgFeO 2 system is a viable visible-light-driven

nanocomposite for the purifi cation of water and wastewater.