Synthesis of efficient composite photocatalysts from solid solution Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 and Ag-AgI/AgCl for decomposition the oil field pollutants of phenol and acrylamide

Abstract

Composite photocatalysts typically display enhanced photocatalytic performance. In this paper, the polycomplex Ag-AgI/AgCl/Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 was prepared by a photo-reduction approach. The identity of the composite was confirmed by several characterization methods including, the structure of sample was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, the morphology and element information of sample was investigated through scanning electron microscopy and SEM-mapping, the surface valence states of sample was confirmed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Oilfield produced wastewater was chosen as the target in this study due to the toxicity and persistent nature of its components (pollutants such as, phenol and acrylamide). Ag-AgI/AgCl/Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 exhibited superior photocatalytic activity than either Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 or Ag-AgI/AgCl, after irradiation with visible and UV light for 5 h. Under visible irradiation 5 h, the Ag-AgI/AgCl/Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for degradation phenol of 57.7%, which was about 4 times and 1.5 times higher than Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 and Ag-AgI/AgCl, respectively. Additionally, the Ag-AgI/AgCl/Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 displayed photodegradation rates of 41.0% for acrylamide after 5 h UV–visible light irradiation, which was approximately 3.1 times and 1.6 times when treated with Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 and Ag-AgI/AgCl, respectively. The remarkable photocatalytic activity of AgI/AgCl/Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 was further confirmed by the PL spectra, photocurrent response and electrochemical impedance. Furthermore, the stability and reusability were investigated by recycling experiments. In combination with the trapping experiments, the surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag-AgI/AgCl/Bi3O4Cl0.5Br0.5 reveals the catalyst has an ultra-fast charge-separation efficiency and possesses a high redox ability. In this this paper, a new approach for the synthesis of quaternary composites is described and these photocatalysts have been shown to efficiently degrade of oil field pollutants.