In-situ synthesis of graphene oxide/BiOCl heterostructured nanofibers for visible-light photocatalytic investigation

Graphene oxide/BiOCl/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were prepared through a two-step synthesis method and the chemical, structural, morphological, and photocatalytic properties were characterized. Coupling of graphene oxide (GO) and the BiOCl fibers enabled achievement of better photocatalytic performance relative to the pure BiOCl fibers in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the graphene oxide/BiOCl/PAN nanofibers was up to 3 times higher than that of the pure BiOCl fibers. Analysis of the mechanism demonstrated that the holes (h(+)) and electrons (e(-)) played critical roles in the photocatalytic degradation. Moreover, as-prepared samples were stable under consecutive cycles. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.