Fabrication mesoporous BiOCl nanocrystals decorated by WO3 nanoparticles for acceleration Visible-Illumination-Induced reduction of Hg(II)

Herein, the synthesis of heterojunction WO3/BiOCl nanocomposites with a large surface area (195 m(2) g(-1)) has been achieved for the first time through a simplistic synthetic procedure. The photocatalytic ability toward Hg(II) reduction was conducted under visible illumination. The obtained WO3/BiOCl nanocomposites exhibited better performance (100%) within 45 min compared with bare BiOCl, and commercial P25, particularly the 6%WO3/BiOCl nanocomposite was the highest photoreduction ability. The 6%WO3/BiOCl nanocomposite accomplished a high photoreduction rate of 1816.36 mu molg(-1)h(-1) in comparison with the bare BiOCl similar to 67.1 mu molg(-1)h(-1) and P 25 similar to 84.14 mu molg(-1)h(-1). The apparent rate constant of 6%WO3/BiOCl nanocomposite was determined at about 0.095 min(-1), which promoted 41.3 and 32.7 folds higher than bare BiOCl and P25, respectively. The excellent photoreduction ability was ascribed to the promoted light-harvesting and synergistic effect for the effective separation rate of electron-hole. Through photocurrent responses and photoluminescence measurement, the possible mechanism was proposed and verified. Moreover, WO3/BiOCl photocatalyst possessed its photoreduction ability for five consecutive cycles, implying its outstanding stability. WO3/BiOCl exhibited a remarkable ability to reduce Hg(II) ions, indicating its potential in wastewater remediation. This study provides an economical and efficient avenue for the development, and recycling, of S-scheme material-based nanocomposites. (c) 2023 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, heterojunction WO3/BiOCl nanocomposites with a large surface area were successfully synthesized through a simple method. The photocatalytic ability of the obtained nanocomposites towards Hg(II) reduction under visible light illumination was investigated. The 6%WO3/BiOCl nanocomposite exhibited the highest photoreduction ability and significantly outperformed bare BiOCl and commercial P25. The excellent performance was attributed to enhanced light-harvesting and effective electron-hole separation. Furthermore, the WO3/BiOCl photocatalyst showed remarkable stability and the ability to reduce Hg(II) ions, suggesting its potential application in wastewater remediation.