Fabrication of bismuth oxide/titanium dioxide nano-tube arrays photoelectrode and its enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance for degradation of 4-chlorphenol

In order to improve the photocatalytic (PC) performance of TiO2 nano-material, TiO2 nanotube arrays (NTAs) was fabricated by anodization. Subsequently, Bi2O3 nano-particles were successfully deposited onto the surface of TiO2 NTAs through galvanostatic electrodeposition strategy. Afterwards, series of characterizations including scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and photoelectrochemical (PECH) measurements were applied to clarify physicochemical properties of the as-fabricated Bi2O3/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode. All results indicated that the light absorbance and photoinduced charge separation efficiency of Bi2O3/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode were significantly improved. As expected, Bi2O3/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode displayed higher PC efficiency for degradation of 4-chlorphenol (4-CP) aqueous solution than that of pristine TiO2 NTAs. Besides these, the enhanced visible light PC mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, Bi2O3/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode performed good reusability and stability even after six recycle utilization. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.