Facile Preparation of BiOCl/ZnO Heterostructure with Oxygen‐Rich Vacancies and Its Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

Abstract

Photocatalysis is an effective technique for degrading contaminants, however, its effect is inhibited by the high recombination rate of photo‐induced carriers in the photocatalyst. Therefore, this drawback can be overcome by defect engineering (such as oxygen vacancies) and heterostructure, which can expand light response as well as promote the separation and migration of photo‐induced carriers. Herein, BiOCl/ZnO nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by microwave strategy. Experimental results indicated that tetracycline hydrochloride (TC‐HCl, 100 mg/L) was decomposed 90% in 60 min by BiOCl/ZnO heterostructure under visible light, which is 3.34 and 1.08 times higher than that of pristine BiOCl and ZnO, respectively. Various characterizations demonstrated that oxygen vacancy and heterostructures not only extend the light response range but also improve the separation and migration efficiency of photo‐induced carriers, and thereby BiOCl/ZnO heterostructure exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance under vis‐light. This work paves a new way to decorate wide band gap photocatalyst by point defect and heterostructures, and provides a good reference for its application.

Synthesis, Functional Modifications, and Diversified Applications of Hybrid BiOCl-Based Heterogeneous Photocatalysts: A Review

“…The above factors seriously inhibit the application of bare BiOCl in photocatalysis. Currently, it has been proven that the construction of BiOCl-based heterostructures is an effective strategy for enhancing photocatalytic performances. − …”

“…Enormous efforts have confirmed that heterojunction engineering, element doping, defect engineering, and morphology and crystal facet engineering are the prominent strategies for enhanced photocatalytic activity. − Among these modification methods, heterojunction engineering can not only improve the active sites and solar light absorption of photocatalyst but also promote the spatial separation of photocharge carriers. − On the basis of the above consideration, a large number of BiOCl-based heterogeneous photocatalysts with enhanced performances have been constructed. − Currently, they are widely applied in degradation of organic pollutants including rhodamine (RhB), methyl orange (MO), methyl blue (MB), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl), tetracycline (TC), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and imidacloprid, as well as in the detection of heavy metal ions such as Cd­(II) and Pd­(II). − However, applications in other areas such as water splitting hydrogen production, NO removal, CO 2 reduction, disinfection, and the oxidation of alcohol are rare. ,,− Consequently, the current investigations on microstructures and photocatalytic performances of various BiOCl-based heterostructures are mainly based on the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants for understanding their enhanced photocatalytic mechanisms. As for a metal/BiOCl system, the formation of a Schottky barrier at the interface of metal/BiOCl and the plasmonic effect of metal species jointly boost the improvement of its photocatalytic activity.…”

Porous ZnO Microspheres Grafted with Poly‐(N‐isopropylacrylamide) via SI‐ATRP: Reversible Temperature‐Controlled Switching of Photocatalysis**

“…[15][16][17][18] In particular, ZnO has received significant attention in wastewater treatment because of its promising photocatalysis performance for dye pollutants degradation. [19][20][21] Studies have shown that the structure and morphology of ZnO, as a key factor, can significantly influence photocatalysis activities. [22][23][24] Recently, enormous efforts have been devoted to designing ZnO with various particles sizes and morphologies suitable for photocatalysis, including nanorods, [25] nanowires, [26] nanoribbons, [27] nanotubes [28] and three-dimensional (3D) ZnO micro/ nanostructures.…”

“…Comparable to TiO 2 , ZnO exhibits similar properties but low‐cost, easier synthesis process, more absorption efficiency and higher electron mobility [15–18] . In particular, ZnO has received significant attention in wastewater treatment because of its promising photocatalysis performance for dye pollutants degradation [19–21] . Studies have shown that the structure and morphology of ZnO, as a key factor, can significantly influence photocatalysis activities [22–24] .…”

Synthesis of Ag Loaded ZnO/BiOCl with High Photocatalytic Performance for the Removal of Antibiotic Pollutants

“…Therefore, its combination with other semiconductors is highly appreciated to overcome these deficiencies. As a n-type semiconductor, its combination with p-type semiconductors such as BiOCl is an effective strategy to improve the photocatalytic activity by charge transfer and separation from BiOCl to ZnO [28].…”