Construction of polythiophene/Bi4O5I2 nanocomposites to promote photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol a

Abstract

In this contribution, polythiophene (PTh)/Bi4O5I2 nanocomposites are successfully synthesized through a facile route at room temperature, and evaluated as photocatalysts for the photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol a (BPA). It was discovered that the introduction of polythiophene (PTh) obviously enhanced the separation efficiency of photocharge carriers, thus promote the photocatalytic ability of Bi4O5I2. Among the as-prepared PTh/Bi4O5I2 nanocomposites, 0.5% PTh/Bi4O5I2 exhibited the optimal photocatalytic activity, the BPA degradation rate was 99.2% in 30 min. The reaction rate is about 3.7 times as high as that of pure Bi4O5I2. Moreover, the degradation products of BPA were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The good stability of the composite was discovered by cyclic experiments. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed.