Advanced Powder Technology, Vol.31, No.8, 3582-3596, 2020
BiOBr and BiOCl decorated on TiO2 QDs: Impressively increased photocatalytic performance for the degradation of pollutants under visible light
BiOBr and BiOCl were decorated on TiO2 QDs through n-p-p heterojunctions by a simple strategy and they were applied for degradation of three organic dyes upon visible illumination. The obtained photocatalysts were analyzed via XRD, FESEM, EDX, UV-vis DRS, PL, BET, TEM, HRTEM, FT-IR, EIS, XPS, and transient photocurrent measurements. The TiO2 QDs/BiOBr/BiOCI nanocomposite with 20% wt. of BiOBr and 30% wt. of BiOCl displayed superior photoability in the degradation of methylene blue, rhodamine B, and fuchsine, which was almost 34.5, 176, and 78.7-times larger than TiO2 and 27.8, 13.5, and 51.5-folds greater than TiO2 QDs, respectively. The results show that the construction of intimate n-p-p heterojunctions between BiOBr, TiO2 QDs, and BiOCI counterparts leads to enhanced visible-light harvesting and improved charge separation, resulted efficiently increased photocatalytic activity. The trapping results proved that h(+), center dot O-2, and OH center dot species have considerable effects on the degradation reaction. We think that the improved efficiency of the ternary TiO2 QDS/BiOBr/BiOCI photocatalyst is a splendid alternative for the removal of toxic contaminants from wastewater. (C) 2020 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.
Keywords:TiO2 QDs/BiOBr/BiOCl;Visible-light-driven photocatalysis;n-p-p Heterojunction photocatalyst;Wastewater treatment