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Construction of atomic-level charge transfer channel in Bi12O17Cl2/MXene heterojunctions for improved visible-light photocatalytic performance

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Abstract

Exploring efficient co-catalysts to accurately steer the charge separation of semiconductor photocatalysts is highly desired yet remains challenging. Here, we tackle the significant challenge by in situ growing the Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst onto two-dimensional (2D) Cl-terminated Ti3C2 MXene to construct 2D/2D heterojunction of Bi12O17Cl2 and Ti3C2. Firstly, 2D few-layered Ti3C2 MXene with chlorine groups has been successfully synthesized by Lewis acidic etching strategy with subsequent ultrasonic exfoliation. The grafting of chlorine terminations on the surface of MXene serves as nucleating centers and growth platform, resulting in the formation of strong interfacial bonds (Bi–Cl–Ti) between Bi12O17Cl2 and Ti3C2. These strong bonds can facilitate the separation and transfer of photo-generated charge carriers between Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst and Ti3C2 cocatalyst. As expected, the photocatalytic degradation rate of Bi12O17Cl2/Ti3C2 hybrids is 9.7 times higher than that of bare Bi12O17Cl2 nanosheets. This work not only exhibits a new design concept to effectively steer the charge separation for photocatalysis, but also gives a reference for constructing efficient MXene-based photocatalytic systems.

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摘要

寻找高效的助催化剂来精准控制半导体光催化剂的光生电荷分离行为是目前提高光催化性能的一种重要方式, 但仍存在巨大的挑战。在本文中, 为了解决这一难题, 我们通过将Bi12O17Cl2半导体光催化剂原位生长到Ti3C2二维MXene表面来构建2D/2D异质结(Bi12O17Cl2/Ti3C2)。首先,我们通过Lewis酸刻蚀法和超声剥离,成功地合成了具有氯表面基团的层状Ti3C2 MXene。将MXene表面接枝的氯端作为成核中心和生长平台, 促使Bi12O17Cl2和Ti3C2之间形成强界面键(Bi‒Cl‒Ti)。这种强键能够促进Bi12O17Cl2光催化剂和Ti3C2助催化剂之间光生载流子的高效分离和转移。实验结果表明, Bi12O17Cl2/Ti3C2复合材料的光催化降解速率是纯Bi12O17Cl2纳米片的9. 7倍。这种复合方式不仅展示了一种全新的设计理念, 有效地促进了光催化反应中的光生电荷分离, 同时也为构建高效MXene基光催化反应系统提供了参考。

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20211280) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21975129).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Song-Song Cui, Xuan Liu, Yin-Biao Shi, Ming-Ye Ding & Xiao-Fei Yang

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  1. Song-Song Cui
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  2. Xuan Liu
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  3. Yin-Biao Shi
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Correspondence to Ming-Ye Ding.

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Cui, SS., Liu, X., Shi, YB. et al. Construction of atomic-level charge transfer channel in Bi12O17Cl2/MXene heterojunctions for improved visible-light photocatalytic performance. Rare Met. 41, 2405–2416 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-022-02011-3

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