Fabrication of a Novel p–n Heterojunction BiOCl/Ag6Si2O7 Nanocomposite as a Highly Efficient and Stable Visible Light Driven Photocatalyst

• Published in: Catalysis letters Vol. 149; no. 3; pp. 891 - 903
• Main Authors: Qin, Jibo, Chen, Nan, Feng, Chuanping, Chen, Huiping, Feng, Zhengyuan, Gao, Yu, Zhang, Zhenya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-03-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Catalysis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Degradation; Dyes; Electric fields; Electromagnetic absorption; Fourier transforms; Heterojunctions; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Light irradiation; Microscopy; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Optical properties; Organometallic Chemistry; P-n junctions; Performance evaluation; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectric emission; Photoelectrons; Physical Chemistry; Spectrum analysis; Transmission electron microscopy; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Stability; Si; BiOCl/Ag; Heterojunction structure; nanocomposite; Visible light; Phenol and MO degradation; O
• ISSN: 1011-372X; 1572-879X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10562-018-2631-x

Herein, a visible-light-active BiOCl/Ag
6
Si
2
O
7
nanocomposite with a strong interfacial interaction p–n heterojunction structure was fabricated via a simple deposition–precipitation method and subsequently investigated as a novel photocatalyst for the first time. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the prepared samples were thoroughly characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by monitoring the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and phenol and the photocurrent generated under visible-light irradiation. The BiOCl/Ag
6
Si
2
O
7
photocatalyst increased significantly its photocatalytic performance compared to the pristine BiOCl and Ag
6
Si
2
O
7
materials. This enhancement could be ascribed to the strong visible light absorption and the effective separation of the photogenerated electrons (e
−
) and holes (h
+
) by the internal electrostatic field generated at the junction region. In addition, BiOCl/Ag
6
Si
2
O
7
showed stable photocurrent over long times and cyclic degradation of MO, thereby demonstrating potential applications in the field of environmental remediation.
Graphical abstract