Abstract
The danger of toxic organic pollutants in both aquatic and air environments calls for high-efficiency purification material. Herein, layered bismuth copper oxychalcogenides, BiCuSO, nanosheets of high photocatalytic activity were introduced to the PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride). The fibrous membranes provide an easy, efficient, and recyclable way to purify organic pollutant. The physical and photophysical properties of the BiCuSO and its polymer composite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron spin resonance (EPR). Photocatalysis of Congo Red reveals that the BiCuSO/PVDF shows a superior photocatalytic activity of a 55% degradation rate in 70 min at visible light. The high photocatalytic activity is attributed to the exposed active {101} facets and the triple vacant associates . By engineering the intrinsic defects on the surface of bismuth oxysulfide, high solar-driven photocatalytic activity can be approached. The successful fabrication of the bismuth oxysulfide and its polymer nanocomposites provides an easy and general approach for high-performance purification materials for various applications.
Highlights
Human agricultural and industrial activities can release environment pollutants into both aquatic and air environments [1,2]
Compared with pure BiCuSO, it is found that the intensity of fitted O 1s (2) peak decreases with the formation of surface bismuth defects
Due to the high electronegativity of PVDF/BiCuSO fibers, synergistic effects of polymer matrix, and the BiCuSO, the nanofiber membrane shows an effect of absorbing organic contaminants
Summary
Human agricultural and industrial activities can release environment pollutants into both aquatic and air environments [1,2]. The instinctive shortcoming of TiO2 -based photo-catalysts is that they are only capable of utilizing the ultraviolet light (less than 5% of the solar light) and/or a very small quantities of visible light due to their wide band gaps, which greatly limit their photocatalytic performance. Our previous work demonstrated that new Bi-based layered structured BiCuSeO oxyselenides possess good photocatalytic activity and chemical stability in the full solar light spectrum for degradation of organic contaminants (Congo Red, the most widely used azo dye in textile industry, is used as a model pollutant) in aqueous solution. By taking the narrow band gap ceramic nanoparticle as the filler in the polymer matrix, the resultant composites show potential applications in recyclable filters with visible-light-cleanable features
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
