Emergence of S-scheme-derived Ag decorated CuBi2O4/CNTs/(BiO)2CO3 photocatalyst with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

Abstract

BackgroundDue to advantages like low cost, and high catalytic efficiency, photocatalysis has attracted more and more attention. The present investigation presents a straightforward and cost-effective hydrothermal method for producing Ag-decorated CuBi2O4/CNTs/(BiO)2CO3 composites with varying weight percentages of (BiO)2CO3. MethodsHerein, systematic investigations were conducted to examine the crystal, morphological, and optical properties of the photocatalysts. The investigation focused on evaluating the photocatalytic performance via visible light-assisted photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB). Significant findingsFindings revealed that loading of (BiO)2CO3 efficiently improved the photoactivity of the composite. The Ag-CuBi2O4/CNTs/(BiO)2CO3 heterojunction photocatalyst with 15 % loading of (BiO)2CO3 has expressively enhanced photocatalytic performance, estimated around 97.79 % of RhB and 98.29 % of MO photo-degraded within 70 min in visible light irradiation, which was also found much enhanced than that of bare CuBi2O4 and (BiO)2CO3. Re-cyclic experiments indicated that fabricated semiconductor hybrid photo-catalyst own good photo-stability as well as reusability. The involvement of ∙O2- and ∙OH active radical species in the process of increased photo-degradation has been demonstrated using ESR and radical trapping tests. The description of the full photocatalytic mechanism based on the S-scheme was conducted by considering the estimated energy band locations, electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) trapping tests. This study presents a pragmatic methodology for the development of wide-bandgap bismuth-derived semiconductors that exhibit effective photo-degradation for environmental remediation.