Enhanced photocatalytic performance of metal silver and carbon dots co-doped BiOI photocatalysts and mechanism investigation

Guo, Yun; Lay, Chyi-How; Zhou, Dandan; Dong, Shuangshi; Zhang, Jun; Ren, Nanqi

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-05684-z

Resource Recovery from Wastewater, Solid Waste and Waste Gas: Engineering and Management Aspects
Published: 25 June 2019

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of metal silver and carbon dots co-doped BiOI photocatalysts and mechanism investigation

Yun Guo¹,
Chyi-How Lay²,
Dandan Zhou³,
Shuangshi Dong¹,
Jun Zhang¹ &
Nanqi Ren⁴

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 27, pages 17516–17529 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The photocatalytic technology provides a promising and effective strategy for the transformation and degradation of contaminants. Herein, we accurately fabricated a novel ternary photocatalyst, namely, metal silver (Ag) and carbon dots (CDots) co-doped BiOI nanocomposite (Ag/CDots/BiOI) via the reduction method with ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodine ([Bmim]I) at room temperature. The morphologies and microstructures showed the Ag and CDots were uniformly loaded on the surface of BiOI, forming a ternary system. The characterization results implied that an intense interaction was formed between Ag and CDots on the BiOI, which could achieve the broad spectrum utilization of visible light and boosted the photocatalytic performances. The 0.9-Ag/2-CDots/BiOI (0.9 wt% of Ag, 2 wt% of CDots) presented the highest photocatalytic activity with ~ 100% in 4-Chlorophenol, 68.8% in mineralization, and 87.4% in dechlorination in 6 h under visible light illumination. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag, the up-converted photoluminescence (PL) properties of CDots, and the electron transfer properties of both Ag and CDots. Moreover, a possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism was discussed in detail by band structure analysis and radical scavenger quenching experiments. This study provides a promising approach for promoting the utilization efficiency for solar energy and sustainable environmental remediation.

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Funding

The authors sincerely thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51678270, 51761145031) and 111 Project (B16020) for their financial support.

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Affiliations

Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
Yun Guo, Shuangshi Dong & Jun Zhang
Green Energy and Biotechnology Industry Research Center, Master Program of Green Energy Science and Technology, General Education Center, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan
Chyi-How Lay
School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, Jilin, China
Dandan Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
Nanqi Ren

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Yun Guo
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Chyi-How Lay
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Dandan Zhou
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Shuangshi Dong
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Jun Zhang
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Nanqi Ren
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Correspondence to Shuangshi Dong.

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Guo, Y., Lay, CH., Zhou, D. et al. Enhanced photocatalytic performance of metal silver and carbon dots co-doped BiOI photocatalysts and mechanism investigation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 17516–17529 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05684-z

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Received: 24 January 2019
Accepted: 04 June 2019
Published: 25 June 2019
Issue Date: May 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05684-z

Keywords

Carbon dots
Ag
BiOI
Synergistic effect
Charge transfer