Ni2+-assisted catalytic one-step synthesis of Bi/BiOCl/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light

Bi/BiOCl/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction was prepared via one-step hydrothermal process under the synergistic catalysis of Ni2+, where Bi(NO3)(3) was employed as Bi source, DMF was used as carbon source and reductant, NiCl2 was adopted as Cl source and co-catalyst. The content of Bi, BiOCl and Bi2O2CO3 can be adjusted by changing the reaction time, temperature, content of DMF and NiCl2. The doping of Bi enhanced the photo catalytic activity of BiOCl/Bi2O2CO3 under visible-light. Bi/BiOCl/Bi2O2CO3 presented photo-degradation activity for environmental pollutants of rhodamine B, sunset yellow and tetracycline, which were 13.01, 9.40, 1.50 times and 168.38, 10.90, 4.75 times higher than BiOCl and Bi2O2CO3, respectively. The improved photocatalytic activity was ascribed to the sensitized effect of Bi and BiOCl, the surface plasmon resonance effect and the heterojunction structure, which inhibited the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The degradation mechanism for rhodamine B was discussed, and the decreased toxicity of the degradation products was demonstrated.

Automated summary

Bi/BiOCl/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity was prepared via one-step hydrothermal process under the synergistic catalysis of Ni2+, showing promising application potential in environmental remediation.