title: In situ synthesis of uniform Fe2O3/BiOCl p/n heterojunctions and improved photodegradation properties for mixture dyes.
abstract: The xFe2O3/yBiOCl composites (xFe/yBi, x/y = 0/100, 5/100, 10/100, 20/100, 30/100 and 40/100 molar ratios) are prepared for the first time through an in situ hydrolysis method under hydrothermal conditions. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS). The photodegradation performances of the xFe/yBi samples are investigated using a simulated industrial wastewater mixture containing both rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO). The uniform Fe2O3 nanocubes are found to be well distributed on the BiOCl nanosheets. Moreover, the xFe/yBi photocatalysts exhibit unexpectedly higher efficiencies than bare BiOCl or Fe2O3 under ultraviolet light irradiation (λ ≤ 420 nm). Specifically, the degradation rates of the xFe/yBi samples at x/y = 5/100 and 10/100 are four times higher than that of bare BiOCl for MO-RhB mixed dye solutions. Their high photocatalytic activities are mainly attributed to the formation of stable p/n heterojunctions between Fe2O3 and BiOCl, which greatly improve the separation of photogenerated carriers. Importantly, the highly efficient and inexpensive xFe/yBi p/n heterojunctions are expected to be useful in practical industrial wastewater applications involving complicated toxic components.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center of Environmental Cleaning Materials (ECM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (AEMPC), Jiangsu Joint Laboratory of Atmospheric Pollution Control (APC), Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (AEET), School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, 219 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, China. tfwd@163.com.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yujian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Mindong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Teng