Heterostructured α-Bi2O3/BiOCl Nanosheet for Photocatalytic Applications

Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater is recognized as a promising technology. However, photocatalyst Bi2O3 responds to visible light and suffers from low quantum yield. In this study, the α-Bi2O3 was synthetized and used for removing Cl− in acidic solutions to transform BiOCl. A heterostructured α-Bi2O3/BiOCl nanosheet can be fabricated by coupling Bi2O3 (narrow band gap) with layered BiOCl (rapid photoelectron transmission). During the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), the Bi2O3/BiOCl composite material presented excellent photocatalytic activity. Under visible light irradiation for 60 min, the Bi2O3/BiOCl photocatalyst delivered a superior removal rate of 99.9%, which was much higher than pristine Bi2O3 (36.0%) and BiOCl (74.4%). Radical quenching experiments and electron spin resonance spectra further confirmed the dominant effect of electron holes h+ and superoxide radical anions ·O2− for the photodegradation process. This work develops a green strategy to synthesize a high-performance photocatalyst for organic dye degradation.

Carbonized Nickel‐Loaded Spent Coffee Grounds Modified BiOCl Photocatalysts for Enhanced Degradation of Ofloxacin

“…The Cl 2p high‐resolution spectra (Figure 5c) also expressed two spin–orbit doublet peaks of Cl 2p 3/2 (198.0 eV) and Cl 2p 1/2 (199.5 eV) for the characteristic of Cl − . [ 38 ] As can be seen from Figure 5d, two peaks of O 1s can be found, the one at 530.7 eV is attributed to the oxygen in CSCG‐BOC materials, and the other at 532.6 eV may be deemed as the O atoms around an O‐vacancy. Compared with CSCG‐BOC, the peak of CNSCG‐BOC‐8 significantly shifted 0.2 (580.5 eV) to lower binding energy and the oxygen vacancy concentration on the surface increased, because oxygen vacancies are easily formed when high‐valent metal ions are replaced by low‐valent metal cations in the crystals, which may effectively promoting the efficiency of photocatalysis.…”

Efficient Degradation of Rhodamine B with the BiOCl/Bi2Fe4O9 Heterojunction Photocatalyst

“…2 Rhodamine B is one of the common dyes, with potential carcinogenic effects, endangering ecosystems, and human health. 3 Exploring how to solve environmental problems in a low-cost and pollution-free way has become a hot topic. 4 Photocatalytic degradation has attracted much attention due to its advantages such as energy saving, safety, efficiency, and low cost.…”

“…Pollution is a growing problem with the industrialization of cities, and a large amount of industrial wastewater discharge has caused a huge threat to the ecosystem . Rhodamine B is one of the common dyes, with potential carcinogenic effects, endangering ecosystems, and human health . Exploring how to solve environmental problems in a low-cost and pollution-free way has become a hot topic .…”

In situ synthesis of a Bi2O3 quantum dot decorated BiOCl heterojunction with superior photocatalytic capability for organic dye and antibiotic removal

“…The BiOCl/Bi 2 O 3 heterojunctions have been comprehensively studied with various methods and multifaceted application in the degrading organic dyes and antibiotics. 23,24 For example, Teng et al 25 developed a green method for synthetizing a-Bi 2 O 3 /BiOCl composite material and investigated its excellent photocatalytic performance during the degradation of RhB. Kong et al 26 and Ruiz-Castillo et al 27 successfully prepared Bi 2 O 3 /BiOCl heterojunction by treating the Bi 2 O 3 with different stoichiometric amounts of HCl and studied its outstanding photocatalytic activity for the degradation of the tetracycline hydrochloride and caffeine, respectively.…”