Abstract
Macrostructural flexible photocatalysts have been proven to have desirable recyclable properties during the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water. However, the photocatalytic activities of these photocatalysts are often unsatisfactory due to the fast recombination of charge carriers and the limited surface active sites. Herein, we developed a novel flexible photocatalyst of AgBr/BiOBr/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite mats (CMs) through the controllable assembly of AgBr/BiOBr nano-heterostructures on electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PAN NFs) via a three-step synthesis route. The component ratio of AgBr to BiOBr in the CMs could be easily adjusted by controlling the in situ ion exchange process. The charge–transfer process occurring at the interface of the AgBr/BiOBr nano-heterostructures strongly hindered the recombination of photoinduced electron–hole pairs, thereby effectively enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the AgBr/BiOBr/PAN CMs. Meanwhile, the unique hierarchical inorganic/organic heterostructure of the AgBr/BiOBr/PAN CMs not only led to good flexibility, but also provided an abundance of active sites for photocatalytic reactions. Upon visible-light irradiation, AgBr/BiOBr/PAN CMs with an optimal ratio of AgBr to BiOBr components exhibited both enhanced photocatalytic activity and excellent separability during the degradation of methyl orange in water compared to the BiOBr/PAN CMs.
Highlights
IntroductionWith the rapid development of global industry and economics, there is an urgent demand for a “green”
With the rapid development of global industry and economics, there is an urgent demand for a “green”ecological environment for human beings
The obtained BiOBr/PAN composite mats (CMs) were removed from the autoclave, washed deionized water and ethanol several times, and dried in an oven at deionized water and ethanol several times, and dried in an oven at 60 ◦ C for 8 h
Summary
With the rapid development of global industry and economics, there is an urgent demand for a “green”. Polymers 2019, 11, 1718 structure of BiOBr provides a space large enough to polarize the electron–hole pairs, which can effectively boost the separation probability of photoinduced charge carriers during the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollution [11]. The AgBr/BiOBr heterostructure has been demonstrated to show enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for pollution degradation, the suspended particulate photocatalyst of the. The optimal AgBr/BiOBr/PAN composite mats (CMs) possessed enhanced photocatalytic activity and an excellent separability for the degradation of methyl orange under visible-light irradiation. This could be attributed to the effective process of charge–transfer on the AgBr/BiOBr heterojunction interface and the unique structural properties of flexible PAN nanofibrous mats. Our work provides new insight into the development of semiconductor heterojunction-based flexible photocatalysts for practical applications
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