Facile in Situ Growth of High Strong BiOI Network Films on Metal Wire Meshes with Photocatalytic Activity

Novel visible-light-sensitive BiOI network films with hierarchical microstructure have been first fabricated on 304 stainless steel (304SS) wire mesh substrates through a facile in situ growth method. Factors influencing the formation of BiOI films, including the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), the reaction time, and temperature, have been explored. Physical and chemical properties of BiOI films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The photocatalytic ability of BiOI films on 304SS wire mesh substrates was studied by degrading methylene blue, methyl orange, rhodamine B, and phenol as target water pollutants and the killing of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as target pathogenic bacteria under visible light irradiation. The BiOI film on the 304SS wire mesh substrate fabricated at 140 degrees C for 4 h with 0.1 g of PVP had excellent photocatalytic activity, stability, and reusability in the cycled experiments. The reasons for these unique features can be ascribed to the large film surface area, the stable film structure, and the open framework structure of the 304SS wire mesh. The current work could provide new strategies to construct novel photoactive functional films for water purification and disinfection. [GRAPHICS]