Surface treatment for efficient photocarriers transfer and separation: A general case of nitric acid activated Bi4Ti3O12

The first case of nitric acid-activated Bi4Ti3O12 (BTO) has been investigated. The activity of 1% molar ratio nitric acid-activated Bi4Ti3O12 (BTO-1) is 22.8 times, 2 times, and 2 times higher than BTO on photodegra-dation of rhodamine B (RhB), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), and Cr (VI) solution, respectively. The ex-cellent improvement of the photo-redox reaction is due to the simultaneous removal of Na+ and the creation of oxygen vacancies on the photocatalyst surface, which can improve the transport and separa-tion efficiency of the photocarrier. In addition, BTO-1 has excellent photostability. This study may provide a general approach to improve the photocatalytic properties of titanates synthesized by the hydrothermal method with NaOH. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study investigated the performance of nitric acid-activated Bi4Ti3O12 and highlighted its advantages in photocatalytic degradation of RhB, TC, and Cr(VI). By removing Na+ and creating oxygen vacancies, the transport and separation efficiency of photocarriers were improved, leading to enhanced photo-redox reactions.