Photocatalytic degradation of various antibiotics under visible light irradiation by CdS-doped SiO2@BiOX (X = Br, Cl) prepared by mixed solvothermal method

Abstract

The disadvantage of high photogenerated electron-hole complexation rate of bismuth oxyhalide-based photocatalysts under visible light irradiation limits its application in photocatalysis. In the present study, we prepared CdS@SiO2@BiOX (X = Cl, Br) photocatalysts with Z-scheme energy band structure by depositing cadmium sulfide. XRD, XPS, and SEM results showed that cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were deposited on BiOX nanosheets. Z-scheme CdS@SiO2@BiOX (X = Cl, Br) showed better visible degradation of OFL and TCH than SiO2@BiOX with visible light-driven photocatalytic activity. The radical capture experiments showed that O2− was the main active substance for the degradation of organic pollutants on CdS@SiO2@BiOCl. In addition, the Z-scheme structure of CS@SBX was determined by photoelectrochemical measurements and band potential calculations. CdS@SiO2@BiOX (X = Cl, Br) as an efficient visible-light-driven active catalyst for pollutant removal and environmental remediation.