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Photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitroaniline in aqueous solution using BiOCl/BiOBr/rGO ternary heterojunction under simulated UV–visible light irradiation

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Abstract

BiOCl/BiOBr/rGO ternary heterojunctions were synthesized and characterized, and their photocatalytic activities were examined. Three different rGO mass ratios were incorporated into BiOCl75%BiOBr25%; 1% rGO, 3% rGO, and 5% rGO, respectively. The successful incorporation of rGO into the composites was confirmed using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Furthermore, calculated band gap, elemental composition, and composites’ morphology were investigated using UV–visible (UV–Vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The photocatalytic activities of the ternary heterojunctions were evaluated toward the photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) in aqueous solution. Experimental results reveal that rGO incorporation enhances the activity of the prepared heterojunction photocatalysts, where photocatalyst containing 5% rGO exhibited the highest activity achieving rate of 0.84 min−1.

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Acknowledgements

This research project was financially supported by the United Arab Emirates University, Emirates Center for Energy and Environment Research, Collaboration Team Research (Grant no. 31R238, Ahmed Alzamly).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, UAE University, P.O. Box 15551, Al-Ain, UAE

    Salama Alismaail, Salwa Hussein Ahmed, Maram Bakiro & Ahmed Alzamly

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  1. Salama Alismaail
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Correspondence to Ahmed Alzamly.

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Alismaail, S., Ahmed, S.H., Bakiro, M. et al. Photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitroaniline in aqueous solution using BiOCl/BiOBr/rGO ternary heterojunction under simulated UV–visible light irradiation. Photochem Photobiol Sci 20, 997–1009 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43630-021-00075-1

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