PANI/BiOCl nanocomposite induced efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity

PANI/BiOCl nanosheets were successfully prepared via a facile precipitation of polyaniline (PANI) on the surface of the prepared bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl). XRD confirmed the successful formation of tetragonal structure of BiOCl. The results of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed the enhancement of the light absorption in the visible region for the PANI/BiOCl sample. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared samples was investigated and optimized. PANI/BiOCl (with weight ratio of 0.75:1) displayed much higher photocatalytic activity for reactive blue (RB-220) anionic dye degradation than single BiOCl under visible light. The photodegradation efficiency showed that similar to 99% of dye molecules were degraded after irradiation for 25 min at pH similar to 3. This work provides a potential-effective degradation of anionic dye under visible light and PANI was not only responsible for extending the light absorption to the visible region, but also played a vital role in improving the separation of the photo-generated e(-)/h(+) pairs.

Automated summary

PANI/BiOCl nanosheets were successfully prepared by precipitating PANI on the surface of BiOCl, showing enhanced light absorption in the visible region and higher photocatalytic activity for RB-220 dye degradation. This work provides a potential-effective degradation method for anionic dye under visible light.