Interface engineered 2D/2D Ni(OH)2/Bi4Ti3O12 nanocomposites with higher charge transfer towards improving photocatalytic activity

Exploring semiconductor-based photocatalysis toward reaching solar energy conversion was an ideal strategy. Here, Ni(OH)(2) was used an effective co-catalyst instead of noble metal to construct a novel two dimensional 2D/2D Ni(OH)(2)/Bi4Ti3O12 composites with interfacial interaction between Ni(OH)(2) and Bi4Ti3O12. The layer Ni(OH)(2)/Bi4Ti3O12 composites showed higher photocatalytic activity as compared to pure samples, which was attributed to the interfacial interaction to promote the electron-holes separation. Thus, this work provided a novel insight into design 2D/2D nanocomposites and proved Ni(OH)(2) could excellently act as the effective co-catalyst instead of noble metal to enhance photocatalytic activity. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.