In Situ Synthesis of All-Solid-State Z-Scheme BiOBr0.3I0.7/Ag/AgI Photocatalysts with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light Irradiation

• Published in: Nanoscale research letters Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Lu, Junlin, Shang, Chaoqun, Meng, Qingguo, Lv, Haiqin, Chen, Zhihong, Liao, Hua, Li, Ming, Zhang, Yongguang, Jin, Mingliang, Yuan, Mingzhe, Wang, Xin, Zhou, Guofu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 20.11.2018; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: BiOBr0.3I0.7/Ag/AgI; Catalytic activity; Chemistry and Materials Science; Current carriers; Dyes; Irradiation; Light irradiation; Materials Science; Migration; Molecular Medicine; Nano Express; Nanochemistry; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photocatalytic; Photodegradation; Silver; Solid state; Z-scheme; Photocatalytic; I; BiOBr; Z-scheme; Ag/AgI
• ISSN: 1931-7573; 1556-276X
• DOI: 10.1186/s11671-018-2778-9

A series of novel visible light driven all-solid-state Z-scheme BiOBr 0.3 I 0.7 /Ag/AgI photocatalysts were synthesized by facile in situ precipitation and photo-reduction methods. Under visible light irradiation, the BiOBr 0.3 I 0.7 /Ag/AgI samples exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to BiOBr 0.3 I 0.7 and AgI in the degradation of methyl orange (MO). The optimal ratio of added elemental Ag was 15%, which degraded 89% of MO within 20 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of BiOBr 0.3 I 0.7 /Ag/AgI can be ascribed to the efficient separation of photo-generated electron–hole pairs through a Z-scheme charge-carrier migration pathway, in which Ag nanoparticles act as electron mediators. The mechanism study indicated that ·O 2 − and h + are active radicals for photocatalytic degradation and that a small amount of ·OH also participates in the photocatalytic degradation process.