Single-step synthesis of 1D/3D- BiYO3/BiOI direct Z-scheme heterostructure for the remediation of wastewater

Abstract

In this work, a visible-light responsive BiYO3/BiOI nanocomposite photocatalyst with various amounts (1, 2, 3 wt %) of BiYO3 was synthesized by a solvothermal process. Furthermore, the prepared nanocomposite was investigated by various spectroscopic analysis, like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence (PL) studies. The structural morphology study explored BiYO3 1D-nanorods are anchored on the surface of 3D-marigold flower-like structure of BiOI. Among different ratio of BiYO3 loaded over the samples, the optimized BYBI-2 nanocomposite seem to reveal much higher (83%) photocatalytic efficiency than the pure BiOI and BiYO3. In addition, the recycling tests too indicated that the optimized BYBI-2 nanocomposite is more robust, stable and reusable material for photocatalytic performances. The obtained rate constant value on the photodegradation of BYBI-2 nanocomposite is 0.02758 min−1 and has about 3.5 and 6.5 times larger than the pure BiOI (0.00808 min−1) and BiYO3 (0.00424 min−1) proportionately. The augmented photocatalytic activity of catalyst could be owed to the high visible-light absorption capability and the efficient separation of the charges. The radical trapping experiments too corroborated the vital role of h+ and •OH in the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). According to the findings, a conceivable ZFTIR-scheme degradation mechanism of BiYO3/BiOI composite for detoxifying MB under 60 min of visible light irradiation has been presented. Thus, we considered that the as-synthesized material could be distinguished photocatalytic material for wastewater treatment.