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Preparation and photocatalytic application of AgBr modified Bi2WO6 nanosheets with high adsorption capacity

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Abstract

AgBr-modified Bi2WO6 nanosheets were successfully synthesized using a CTAB-assisted hydrothermal method followed by a facile deposition–precipitation procedure. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and photoluminescence emission spectroscopy (PL). AgBr nanoparticles were found evenly distributed on the surface of the Bi2WO6 nanosheets. The AgBr/Bi2WO6 nanocomposite demonstrated enhanced pollutant decolorization efficiency in eliminating Rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), and phenol aqueous solutions under simulated solar light irradiation. It has been noticed that the adsorption performance of both Bi2WO6 nanosheets and AgBr-modified Bi2WO6 nanosheets played a more important role in the decolorization of pollutants, such as RhB and MO, than their photocatalytic ability. The high adsorption efficiency of the photocatalysts was mainly attributed to the increased surface area and the exposed reactive facets of the materials.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the funding from the Achievement Transfer Program of Institutions of Higher Education in Chongqing (KJZH17131), the “Chunhui Project” of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (Grant No. Z2016175), the Scientific Research Project of Fuling District (Grant No. FLKW, 2017ABA1007), and the Scientific Research Foundation of Yangtze Normal University (Grant No. 2015XJXM01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Yangtze Normal University, Chongqing, 408100, China

    Peng Zhang, Zhiyuan Dong, Yuanming Ran & Hualin Xie

  2. Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for Materials and Energy, Institute of Applied Materials, Berlin, 14109, Germany

    Peng Zhang

  3. College of Mechanical Engineering & Graduate School, Chiba University, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan

    Yun Lu

  4. Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Development in Wuling Mountain Areas, Yangtze Normal University, Chongqing, 408100, China

    Shimin Ding

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  1. Peng Zhang
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Correspondence to Hualin Xie.

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Zhang, P., Dong, Z., Ran, Y. et al. Preparation and photocatalytic application of AgBr modified Bi2WO6 nanosheets with high adsorption capacity. Journal of Materials Research 33, 3953–3962 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2018.386

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2018.386

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