BiOCl dispersed on NiFe-LDH leads to enhanced photo-degradation of Rhodamine B dye

BiOCl-NiFe-LDH composites were synthesized using NiFe-Cl-LDH and Bi(NO3)(3) as precursors and the composites were characterized by XRD, SEM and FTIR. Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye was tested with BiOCl-NiFe-LDH composite and NiFe-Cl-LDH and BiOCl materials under the same conditions and the composite was found to be superior to both NiFe-Cl-LDH and BiOCl for RhB degradation. The superior performance of the BiOCl-NiFe-LDH composite was related to better dispersion of BiOCl particles on the surface of NiFe-LDH materials. After three-times of recycling, the RhB degradation efficiencies were 93.3%, 90.1% and 87.9% during the first, second and third cycles, respectively. The BiOCl-NiFe-LDH composite prepared here appears to be an efficient and stable composite photocatalyst, which may have potential applications in wastewater treatment field. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.