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Fabrication of a Novel p–n Heterojunction BiOCl/Ag6Si2O7 Nanocomposite as a Highly Efficient and Stable Visible Light Driven Photocatalyst

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Abstract

Herein, a visible-light-active BiOCl/Ag6Si2O7 nanocomposite with a strong interfacial interaction p–n heterojunction structure was fabricated via a simple deposition–precipitation method and subsequently investigated as a novel photocatalyst for the first time. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the prepared samples were thoroughly characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by monitoring the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and phenol and the photocurrent generated under visible-light irradiation. The BiOCl/Ag6Si2O7 photocatalyst increased significantly its photocatalytic performance compared to the pristine BiOCl and Ag6Si2O7 materials. This enhancement could be ascribed to the strong visible light absorption and the effective separation of the photogenerated electrons (e−) and holes (h+) by the internal electrostatic field generated at the junction region. In addition, BiOCl/Ag6Si2O7 showed stable photocurrent over long times and cyclic degradation of MO, thereby demonstrating potential applications in the field of environmental remediation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 20407129, 51578519), Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (No. 2017ZX07202002) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2652017190).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Water Resources and Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Groundwater Circulation and Environmental Evolution, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Jibo Qin, Nan Chen, Chuanping Feng, Huiping Chen & Zhengyuan Feng

  2. College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Gao

  3. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Zhenya Zhang

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  1. Jibo Qin
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  2. Nan Chen
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  3. Chuanping Feng
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  4. Huiping Chen
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  5. Zhengyuan Feng
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  6. Yu Gao
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  7. Zhenya Zhang
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Correspondence to Nan Chen.

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Qin, J., Chen, N., Feng, C. et al. Fabrication of a Novel p–n Heterojunction BiOCl/Ag6Si2O7 Nanocomposite as a Highly Efficient and Stable Visible Light Driven Photocatalyst. Catal Lett 149, 891–903 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-018-2631-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-018-2631-x

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