Regulating the Electronic Structure of Fe³⁺-Doped BiOCl_xI_1–x Solid Solution by an Amidoxime-Functionalized Fibrous Support for Efficient Photocatalysis

Abstract

BiOX (X = Cl, I, Br) has attracted intensive interest as a photocatalyst for environmental remediation, but its limited photocatalytic activity versus visible light irradiation restricts its practical application. Herein, a Fe³⁺-doped BiOCl_xI_1–x solid solution (Fe-BiOCl_xI_1–x) was synthesized in situ on an amidoxime-functionalized fibrous support via a one-pot solvothermal approach. Comprehensive characterization and DFT calculations indicate that the robust chelated interaction between amidoxime groups and Fe³⁺ greatly boosts the crystal growth of nanosized Fe-BiOCl_xI_1–x on the fibrous surface, simultaneously tunes its electronic structure for improved light harvesting and oxygen vacancy creation, and enables the fibrous support to act as an electron sink for efficient charge separation. These synergistic qualities result in high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic contaminants, which outperforms that obtained for unsupported Fe-BiOCl_xI_1–x and other fibrous samples by several times. Our findings highlight the importance of functionalized support design for the development of efficient BiOX photocatalysts under visible light irradiation.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(21806121); Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City(15JCQNJC06300)