Construction of novel Z-scheme BiOI/Bi3O4Br heterojunction with excellent photocatalytic performance by in situ precipitation process

An innovative 3D flower-like BiOI/Bi3O4Br hierarchical heterostructures complex material was firstly constructed via in-situ growth of ultrathin BiOI on Bi3O4Br by a simple precipitation method. Under the simulated solar-light illumination for 90 min, the optimal 60% BiOI/Bi3O4Br composite displayed the highest photodegradation rate of 96.4% for RhB, 80.0% for TC and 77.2% for MO. The corresponding apparent rate constants were 0.0314, 0.0167 and 0.0110 min-1, which were 8.26, 1.82 and 3.24-times than that of Bi3O4Br, 44.86,11.13 and 2.62-times than that of BiOI. The improved photodegradation activity could be owing to the following reasons: 1) The 3D hierarchical heterostructures endowed BiOI/ Bi3O4Br with tight interfacial contact, which can supply sufficient migration channels for photoinduced carriers; 2) The Z-scheme charge migrate pathway promoted the segregation of photocarriers while maintaining a robust redox ability; 3) The BiOI/Bi3O4Br heterostructures reinforced light absorption edges more than 600 nm and augmented specific surface areas over 60 m2 g-1. In addition, the various photocatalytic conditions were studied to imitate the degradation process of RhB in the real aqueous system. The radical capture experiments and EPR test attested that h+ and .O2- played an important part in the photodegradation of RhB. (c) 2023 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

An innovative 3D flower-like BiOI/Bi3O4Br hierarchical heterostructures composite material was constructed via a simple precipitation method. It exhibited significantly improved photodegradation activity compared to Bi3O4Br and BiOI.