Controllable Growth of BiOCl on Fe4N/Fe3O4 Magnetic Particles through Vapor Thermal Synthesis

Fe4N/Fe3O4@BiOCl photocatalysts were synthesized using vapor thermal and solvothermal methods at 90, 120, 150, and 180 degrees C, and investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy/transmission electron microscopy, SQUID, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis, and BET. The photocatalytic performance was tested by the target pollutant RhB. In the case of vapor thermal synthesis, the Fe4N/Fe3O4 magnetic particles exert influence on the BiOCl growth direction because the vapor thermal synthesis enables BiOCl to come into contact intimately with Fe4N/Fe3O4 magnetic particles due to the slow hydrolysis reaction; the synthesized Fe4N/Fe3O4@BiOCl exhibits a better photocatalytic performance. The reason for the better photocatalytic performance is that the Fe4N/Fe3O4 magnetic particles are completely coated by BiOCl without the bare Fe4N/Fe3O4 magnetic particles because the bare Fe4N/Fe3O4 magnetic particles cannot degrade RhB. Furthermore, the higher mass ratio of BiOCl is loaded on the Fe4N/Fe3O4 magnetic particles, which is the other reason for the better photocatalytic performance.