In Situ Construction of Dye-Sensitized BiOCl/Rutile-TiO2 Nanorod Heterojunctions with Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Treating Persistent Organic Pollutants

The construction of efficient and stable heterojunction photocatalysts with a controllable close contact interface and visible-light response is a challenging research topic in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, a series of BiOCl/rutile-TiO2 (R-TiO2) nanorod heterojunctions were constructed using R-TiO2 nanorods as supporting frameworks followed by selective adsorption of Cl- on R-TiO2(110) facets and in situ growth of BiOCl on the surface of TiO2 nanorods. The strong affinity of rhodamine B (RhB) as a photosensitizer for BiOCl allowed the prepared BiOCl/R-TiO2 heterojunctions to work efficiently under visible-light irradiation. The dye-sensitized BiOCl/R-TiO2 nanorod heterojunctions displayed promising photocatalytic performance for simultaneously treating RhB and the persistent organic pollutant 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol (DNBP). The highly enhanced photodegradation activity of the BiOCl/R-TiO2 system was mainly attributed to the efficient RhB-photosensitization effect, the enhanced heterojunction effect, and the suitable conduction band match between BiOCl and R-TiO2, which facilitated electron transfer from the excited RhB to the catalyst surface and charge separation across the BiOCl/R-TiO2 interface, thus promoting the formation of center dot O-2(-) and h(+) as dominant active species in the reaction system for degradation of pollutants. The results demonstrate that the construction of a dye-sensitized BiOCl/R-TiO2 heterojunction system is an effective strategy for improving the photocatalytic potential.

Automated summary

The construction of a dye-sensitized BiOCl/R-TiO2 heterojunction system proved to be an effective strategy for enhancing photocatalytic potential, with the synergistic effects of efficient RhB-photosensitization, enhanced heterojunction effect, and suitable conduction band match between BiOCl and R-TiO2 facilitating improved electron transfer and charge separation for pollutant degradation.