Interface engineering and photocatalytic properties of novel Bi4(V1.5Fe0.5O10.5)/g-C3N4 under direct sunlight irradiation

Abstract

The development of heterostructured catalysts can reduce the recombination of photo-generated charge carriers and preserve the strong redox potential of a photocatalytic system, thus significantly enhancing photocatalytic performance. In the present study, a novel Aurivillius Bi4(V1.5Fe0.5O10.5)/g-C3N4 catalyst was prepared using a cost-effective method. The structural, morphological, compositional, and optical properties of the samples were characterized, verifying the formation of a Bi4(V1.5Fe0.5O10.5)/g-C3N4 interface. The prepared Bi4(V1.5Fe0.5O10.5)/g-C3N4 catalyst exhibited exceptional performance in the photocatalytic removal of the organic pollutants methylene blue and Rhodamine B under direct sunlight, removing 97.6% and 98.4%, respectively, over the test period, which was 1.49 and 1.36 times higher, respectively, than that achieved by g-C3N4 alone. The ability of the prepared catalyst to remove Ciprofloxacin, Amoxicillin, and 4-nitrophenol was also tested. The possible degradation pathways for the generated charge carriers were identified by determining the roles of intermediates such as •O2–, h+, and •OH. The stronger photocatalytic activity of the proposed catalyst was attributed to the high-quality interface between Bi4(V1.5Fe0.5O10.5) and g-C3N4, which allowed for efficient charge-carrier separation and maintained a high redox potential. The Bi4(V1.5Fe0.5O10.5)/g-C3N4 photocatalyst thus represents a new potential pathway for the production of high-quality photocatalysts.