Preparation of BiOCl/Bi2WO6 Photocatalyst for Efficient Fixation on Cotton Fabric: Applications in UV Shielding and Self-Cleaning Performances

Abstract

In this work, a visible-light-driven BiOCl/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst was obtained via a facile hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet/visible light diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV/Vis), and photocurrent (PC). BiOCl/Bi2WO6 was modified with (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride to obtain the cationized BiOCl/Bi2WO6. Cotton fabric was pretreated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium chloroacetate solution to obtain carboxymethylated cotton fabric, which was further reacted with cationized BiOCl/Bi2WO6 to achieve finished cotton fabric. The cotton fabrics were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), XRD, SEM, and EDS. The photocatalytic activity of the BiOCl/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst and cotton fabrics was assessed by photocatalytic degradation of MB (methylene blue) solution under simulated visible light. The self-cleaning property of cotton fabrics was evaluated by removing MB solution and red-wine stains. Results revealed that the coated cotton fabrics exhibited appreciable photocatalytic and self-cleaning performance. In addition, anti-UV studies showed that the finished cotton fabrics had remarkable UV blocking properties in the UVA and UVB regions. Therefore, the finished cotton fabric with BiOCl/Bi2WO6 can provide a framework for the development of multifunctional textiles.

Au and Co3O4 anchored Bi2WO6 with enhanced electron paramagnetic resonance, surface plasmon resonance, nonlinear and magnetic properties

“…The higher magnifications of three samples can be seen in Figure 1B,D,F, respectively. We can clearly see the nano‐sheet texture with attached Co 3 O 4 and Au on surface in Figure 1D,F, and the influence of Co 3 O 4 and Au to the basic structure of host was not very big, stable morphology and size were remained which agrees well with relative literatures 25,27 …”

“…This size and morphology of BWO are reasonable among literatures 4,9,11 . The combination of Co 3 O 4 did not change the original morphological structure, and the Co 3 O 4 obviously deposited on the surface of base BWO, indicating the hetero‐structure formed as reported in literatures 22,25,28,30 . Au anchored CBWOA sample in Figure 1E presents very similar morphology but with many spherical clusters on the surface.…”

“…31 The cell parameters were calculated to be a = 5.441 Å, b = 16.42 Å, and c = 5.45 Å which were in good agreement with those of JCPDS No. 39‐256 in literatures 24,25,32 . CBWO and CBWOA showed almost the same XRD pattern with BWO, without apparent characteristic peaks of Co 3 O 4 .…”

“…Even though there were numerous p–n structured materials based on BWO in the past, such as CuBi 2 O 4 , 19 CdS, 6 Bi 2 Sn 2 O 7 , 20 etc. After careful literature review, the very latest BWO‐based p–n structures include the p–n‐type composites with Ta 3 N 5 , 21 CuAlO 2 , 22 Co 3 O 4 , 23 β‐Bi 2 O 3 , 24 BioCl, 25 TiO 2 , 26 CuS 27 and even ternary p–n structured Bi 2 S 3 /MoS 2 , 28 Au/Bi 2 WO 6 /BiOBr, 29 and hybrid quaternary polyvinylidene fluoride/CdS/Bi 2 WO 6 /ZnO 30 and CdS/Bi 2 MoO 6 /BiOBr 31 . All of these studies showed enhancement on photocatalytic performance in the visible range, revealing the p–n junction is an efficient approach to improve optical performance of BWO.…”