Solvothermal-Assisted Synthesis of Biomass Carbon Quantum Dots/Bismuth Oxyiodide Microflower for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

In this paper, the biomass carbon quantum dots (CQDs) modified flower-like BiOI (CQDs/BiOI) composite photocatalyst was synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. Compared with the pristine BiOI, the biomass CQDs/BiOI exhibited outstanding photocatalytic activity for degradation of the typical methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation since the biomass CQDs could act as electron acceptors to effectively facilitate the separation efficiency of photon-generated carriers and prolong their lifetime. Furthermore, the mechanism detection experiment showed that the [Formula: see text] and H[Formula: see text] were major activity species, and the photocatalytic electron transfer mechanism was further investigated. This work provided a new insight into biomass CQDs effects and took an important step toward the development of improving Bi-based semiconductor photocatalyst activity.

Recent Progress in Biochar-Based Photocatalysts for Wastewater Treatment: Synthesis, Mechanisms, and Applications

“…However, the absorbance was relatively weak in the visible region because of the low content of BC [43]. The band gap energy of BCPs can be calculated by application of the Kubelka-Munk function [36,80]. The BCPs displayed much different photocatalytic performance in terms of the difference in band gap energy values [41].…”

“…The introduction of biochar-based CQDs (BCQDs) to the semiconductor could lead to the change of band structure and extend the light absorption [112]. Yao et al [80] prepared BCQDs modified flower-like BiOI composite through the solvothermal method. They found •O 2 and h + was the main active species for MB photodegradation.…”