One-step route to α-Bi2O3/BiOX (X = Cl, Br) heterojunctions with Bi2O3 ultrafine nanotubes closely adhered to BiOX nanosheets

Background: Developing efficient photocatalysts is identified as one of the most promising methods for removing pollutants under sunlight. It is significant and challenging to explore an easy one-step route to fabricate alpha-Bi2O3/BiOX heterojunction with optimized microstructure and photocatalytic performance. Methods: alpha-Bi2O3/BiOX (X = Cl, Br) heterojunctions were synthesized successfully via a facile one-step water bath route at 50 degrees C with pH similar to 11.3 for 2 h, and the possible photocatalytic mechanism was investigated through active species trapping experiments. Significant Findings: Significant Findings The heterojunction alpha-Bi2O3/BiOBr-0.375 exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance for the degradation of antibiotic tetracycline (TC) and rhodamine B (RhB), which could be completely removed within 80 min and 120 min of visible-light illumination, respectively. Especially, the photodegradation efficiency of TC could reach 88.8% within the first 10 min of irradiation. In addition, the asobtained alpha-Bi2O3/BiOCl-1 also presented preeminent visible-light photocatalytic performance for TC and RhB removal. Compared with the reported two-step method for the preparation of alpha-Bi2O3/BiOX, the onestep method generated embedded structures due to the co-nucleation and crystallization of alpha-Bi2O3 and BiOX, where, alpha-Bi2O3 ultrafine nanotubes were closely adhered to BiOX nanosheets, which thus greatly benefits the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers and the improvement of photocatalytic performance. (C) 2021 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, alpha-Bi2O3/BiOX heterojunctions with optimized microstructure and photocatalytic performance were successfully synthesized via a simple one-step method. The heterojunctions exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of antibiotics and dyes under visible light illumination.