A robust visible-light driven BiFeWO6/BiOI nanohybrid with efficient photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performance

In this work, an efficient visible-light active BiFeWO6/BiOI nanocomposite was fabricated by mixing various weight percentages (1%, 2% and 3%) of BiFeWO6 on BiOI via facile one-step wet impregnation method. The synthesized BiFeWO6/BiOI nanocomposite were investigated by XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, EDAX, UV-vis DRS and BET. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized BiFeWO6/BiOI nanocomposite photocatalysts were assessed for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light illumination. The optimum 1% BiFeWO6/BiOI nanocomposite showed 92% efficiency of RhB after 90 min. The photoluminescence (PL) and photoelectrochemical measurements revealed that the 1% BiFeWO6/BiOI nanocomposite greatly enhanced the charge carrier separation and thus by slowing down the recombination rate of the photoinduced charge carriers. The radical trapping experiment inferred the h(+) and 02(center dot-) as the important active species responsible for the photodegradation of RhB. The higher photocatalytic activity and recyclability revealed that the BiFeWO6/BiOI nanocomposite could be a promising material in wastewater treatment and other environmental remediation applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.