With careful rational optimization and substantial simplification
of the syntheses of the recently reported alloys BiO(Cl
x
Br1–x
), we fabricated,
via a very simple procedure and at room temperature, a unique visible-light-driven
photocatalyst with excellent activity. The alloy BiOCl0.875Br0.125 totally decomposed 15 mg/L aqueous Rhodamine B
solution within 120 s upon irradiation with visible light (λ
> 422 nm). The transparent substrate acetophenone was also swiftly
destroyed under the above conditions. The catalyst maintained partial
activity even after switching off the light source. Initial mechanistic
studies clearly suggest that the mode of action of these materials
is fundamentally different from previously reported photocatalytic
mechanisms. Evidently, the putative molecular mechanism does not engage
dye photosensitization or oxygen radicals.
Following our report on the fabrication of BiOCl x Br 1-x (0≤ x ≤1) alloys, and via careful rational optimization and substantial tuning, we upgraded the previous photocatalytic system by means of a controlled doping with elemental bismuth particles. The latter leads to the formation of well-defined structures characterized by effective separation of electron-hole pairs and more reductive photo-excited electrons. These advanced semiconductors, specifically heterojunctioned doped alloys, were synthesized via simple soft chemical route at room temperature and used for demonstrating the enhanced and complete mineralization of recalcitrant organic contaminants in water such as toluene, benzene, chlorobenzene, xylene, terephthalic acid and benzoquinone. The molecular photocatalytic mechanism of the above degradation processes was thoroughly elucidated.
We report the fabrication of thin films of bismuth oxyhalide solid solution with highly exposed {001} facets with the help of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and aluminium oxyhydroxide. These {001} facet exposed films showed enhanced photocatalytic activities compared to those of randomly oriented facets.
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