In situ preparation of visible-light-driven carbon quantum dots/NaBiO3 hybrid materials for the photoreduction of Cr(VI)

In this study, different carbon quantum dots (CQDs)/NaBiO3 hybrid materials were syn-thesized as photocatalysts to effectively utilize visible light for the photocatalytic degradation of contaminants effectively. These hybrid materials exhibit an enhanced photocat-alytic reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in the aqueous medium. Zero-dimensional nanoparticles of CQDs were embedded within the two-dimensional NaBiO3 nanosheets by the hydrothermal process. Compared with that of the pure NaBiO3 nanosheets, the photo-catalytic performance of the hybrid catalysts was significantly high and 6 wt.% CQDs/NaBiO3 catalyst exhibited better photocatalytic performance. We performed the first-principles density functional theory calculations to study the interfacial properties of pure NaBiO3 nanosheets and hybrid photocatalysts, and confirmed the CQDs played an important role in the CQDs/NaBiO3 composites. The experimental results indicated that the enhanced reduction of Cr(VI) was probably due to the high loading of CQDs (electron acceptor) on NaBiO3, which made NaBiO3 nanomaterials to respond in visible light and significantly improved their electron-hole separation efficiency. (C) 2020 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Hybrid materials of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and NaBiO3 were synthesized as effective photocatalysts for visible light photocatalytic degradation of contaminants. The enhanced performance was attributed to the high loading of CQDs on NaBiO3, improving electron-hole separation efficiency. Experimental and theoretical results confirmed the important role of CQDs in the hybrid catalysts.