Enhancing photocatalytic activity on gas-phase heavy metal oxidation with self-assembled BiOI/BiOCl microflowers

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science Vol. 546; pp. 32 - 42
• Main Authors: Sun, Xiaoming, Lu, Jia, Wu, Jiang, Guan, Dayong, Liu, Qizhen, Yan, Naiqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.06.2019
• Subjects: ambient temperature; BiOI/BiOCl; catalysts; coprecipitation; energy; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; gases; Heavy metal; heavy metals; mercury; Microflower heterostructure; oxidation; photocatalysis; photoluminescence; reflectance spectroscopy; scanning electron microscopy; Template-free coprecipitation; transmission electron microscopy; Wet electrostatistic precipitator; X-ray diffraction; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; BiOI/BiOCl; Template-free coprecipitation; Wet electrostatistic precipitator; Microflower heterostructure; Heavy metal
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.03.049

[Display omitted] A one-pot synthetic approach to prepare self-assembled BiOI/BiOCl microflowers by a template-free coprecipitation method at room temperature has been developed. The physicochemical structure of BiOI/BiOCl microflowers were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition information and bonding energy structure of the BiOI/BiOCl microflowers were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The photocatalytic performance of as-prepared BiOI/BiOCl microflowers was tested through photocatalytic oxidation of gas-phase mercury, as a useful catalyst (or additive) in wet electrostatistic precipitator (WESP) to capture heavy metals including mercury. The results show that the prepared BiOI/BiOCl samples demonstrate higher photocatalytic efficiency than pure BiOI or BiOCl. By optimizing the component ratio of the BiOI and BiOCl, up to 72.2% oxidation efficiency can be achieved in BiOI/BiOCl microflowers. Finally, the photocatalytic influence of BiOI/BiOCl microflowers on gas-phase mercury oxidation had been proposed.