Nanoarchitectonics of Oxygen-Vacancy BiOCl@Bi4O5Br2 Z-Type Heterojunctions with Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation Performance

Abstract

Searching for a stable and efficient photocatalyst still presents a variety of challenges, when photocatalytic technology is widely used today. In this paper, oxygen-vacancy BiOCl with different masses was loaded on Bi4O5Br2 nanosheets by a simple two-step method. The UV–Dis spectrum showed that the absorption range of the complex to visible light was larger than that of the two pure substances. In addition, the PL, [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] and EIS characterization prove that the formation of heterogeneous interface between the two materials accelerated the charge transfer in the semiconductor, eventually making photocatalytic efficiency significantly increased. The results showed that the 1 wt.% Ov-BOC@BOB has the best degradation performance, which was seven and four times than that of Ov-BOC and BOB within 120 min, respectively. Free radical capture experiment further confirmed that the charge transfer between oxygen-vacancy BiOCl and Bi4O5Br2 conforms to the Z-type transfer mechanism, such a charge-transfer mechanism would leave behind strongly reducing electrons and strongly oxidizing holes, respectively. The degradation rate of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was not significantly reduced after five cycles of experiments, indicating that the compound had good stability. This study provides a feasible idea for exploring stable and efficient photocatalysts.