Abstract
Bismuth oxyhalides have recently gained attention for their promise as photocatalysts. Due to their layered structure, these materials present fascinating and highly desirable physicochemical properties including visible light photocatalytic capability and improved charge separation. While bismuth oxyhalides have been rigorously evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes and many synthesis strategies have been employed to enhance this property, relatively little work has been done to test them against pharmaceuticals and pesticides. These persistent organic pollutants are identified as emerging concerns by the EPA and effective strategies must be developed to combat them. Here, we review recent work directed at characterizing the nature of the interactions between bismuth oxyhalides and persistent organic pollutants using techniques including LC-MS/MS for the determination of photocatalytic degradation intermediates and radical scavenging to determine active species during photocatalytic degradation. The reported investigations indicate that the high activity of bismuth oxyhalides for the breakdown of persistent organic pollutants from water can be largely attributed to the strong oxidizing power of electron holes in the valence band. Unlike conventional catalysts like TiO2, these catalysts can also function in ambient solar conditions. This suggests a much wider potential use for these materials as green catalysts for industrial photocatalytic transformation, particularly in flow chemistry applications.
Highlights
As a result of modern industrial development, nearly 9000 compounds are currently in use worldwide for pharmaceutical applications [1]
Bismuth oxyhalides are a new class of photocatalysts that possess unique properties that have been shown to result in improved photocatalytic activity compared to traditional photocatalysts
Numerous articles have been published that focus on synthesis and doping strategies of bismuth oxyhalide series (BiOX) to further improve their photocatalytic activity
Summary
As a result of modern industrial development, nearly 9000 compounds are currently in use worldwide for pharmaceutical applications [1]. Catalysts 2018, 8, 604 able to photocatalytically degrade the organic compounds [10] These studies have sparked intense interest in the development of photocatalysts for environmental remediation applications. Bismuth oxyhalides are an alternative to TiO2 with high photocatalytic degradation rates for organic compounds in water and potential functionality in ambient conditions [12]. TiO2 in degrading EE2 and estriol was most pronounced when using a lower-energy light source (350 nm) as seen in Table 1 and Figure 2 This lends credence to the idea that these catalysts can function in natural-light conditions where much of the spectrum is in the visible or low-energy UV range. Using a catalyst capable of working in natural solar-light can reduce the cost of pollution remediation in wastewater treatment facilities since the water can be treated in outdoor facilities versus being processed in tanks with UV lamps.
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