Journal of Hazardous Materials
Journal of Hazardous Materials
5 years ago

Three-dimensional Ag2O/Bi5O7I p–n heterojunction photocatalyst harnessing UV–vis–NIR broad spectrum for photodegradation of organic pollutants

Three-dimensional Ag2O/Bi5O7I p–n heterojunction photocatalyst harnessing UV–vis–NIR broad spectrum for photodegradation of organic pollutants
Ag2O nanoparticles-loaded Bi5O7I microspheres forming a three dimensional Ag2O/Bi5O7I p–n heterojunction photocatalyst with wide-spectrum response were synthesized in this study. The results of transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that the Ag2O nanoparticles with the diameter of ca. 10–20nm were distributed on the surfaces of Bi5O7I nanosheets. The as-synthesized Ag2O/Bi5O7I exhibited an excellent wide-spectrum response to wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR), indicating its potential for effective utilization of solar energy. Compared with pure Bi5O7I, the Ag2O/Bi5O7I composite also demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Bisphenol A and phenol in aqueous solution under visible LED light irradiation. Among samples, the 20% Ag2O/Bi5O7I composite photocatalyst showed the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Bisphenol A and phenol in aqueous solution. In addition, the 20% Ag2O/Bi5O7I composite also exhibited a photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Bisphenol A under NIR light irradiation. The improved photocatalytic activity is attributed to the formation of a p-n heterojunction between Ag2O and Bi5O7I, allowing the efficient utilization of solar energy (from UV to NIR) and high separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The present work is desirable to explore a possible avenue for the full utilization of solar energy.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0304389417307641

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.