Sulfur-Doped BiOCl with Enhanced Light Absorption and Photocatalytic Water Oxidation Activity.

Ruilian Qi,Huanxiang Yuan,Yu Yu,Jian Liu

doi:10.3390/nano11092221

Abstract

Photocatalysis is a powerful strategy to address energy and environmental concerns. Sulfur-doped BiOCl was prepared through a facial hydrothermal method to improve the photocatalytic performance. Experimental results and theoretical calculations demonstrated that the band structure of the sulfur-doped BiOCl was optimally regulated and the light absorption range was expanded. It showed excellent visible-light photocatalytic water oxidation properties with a rate of 141.7 μmol h−1 g−1 (almost 44 times of that of the commercial BiOCl) with Pt as co-catalyst.

Highlights

Photocatalysis has been proved to be an effective and promising approach for solar-tochemical energy conversion and environmental improvement [1,2]
It is of great interest to promote the photocatalytic oxygen evolution activity during the water splitting process
We developed a novel strategy to synthesize sulfur-doped bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) catalyst

Summary

Introduction

Photocatalysis has been proved to be an effective and promising approach for solar-tochemical energy conversion and environmental improvement [1,2]. Water splitting is an attractive reaction due to the intrinsic cleanliness [3,4,5,6,7,8]. The typical water splitting reaction involves the reduction of protons and oxidation of water molecules, producing hydrogen and oxygen, respectively. The sluggish kinetic properties of oxygen evolution greatly limit the solar energy utilization [9,10]. It is of great interest to promote the photocatalytic oxygen evolution activity during the water splitting process. Bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) has been extensively investigated in the photocatalytic field [11,12].

Methods

Results

Conclusion