In-situ template etching synthesis of $\mathrm{BiON} / \mathrm{BiOCl}_{0.9} \mathrm{I}_{0.1}$ heterojunction for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Abstract

Hierarchical heterostructures have emerged as promising candidates for the efficient photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics owing to their matched energy levels and tunable absorption bands. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of a heterojunction photocatalyst composed of basic bismuth nitrate (BiON) and BiOCl_0.9I_0.1 using a simple room-temperature hydrolysis method. Our results demonstrate that the BiON/BiOCl_0.9I_0.1 composite exhibits superior photodegradation performance compared to pure-phase materials owing to the catalytic enhancement at the heterointerface and the effective separation of the photogenerated carriers. Moreover, the unique three-dimensional microsphere morphology of the synthesized composite enhances its specific surface area and light absorption, further enhancing its photocatalytic activity. In the tetracycline (TC) photodegradation reaction as a model reaction, the catalyst could degrade 88% of TC in just 25 min. Overall, this work provides a promising strategy for the facile and low-cost synthesis of heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation materials.

Keywords

Heterojunction / Tetracycline reduction / Visible light / Photocatalysis

Declaration of Competing Interest

There are no conflicts to declare.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52001136, 52171179) and the project funded by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M671981, 2021T140269).

Supplementary materials

Supplementary material associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.chphma.2023.08.001.

References

[1] M.M. Fang, J.X. Shao, X.G. Huang, J.Y. Wang, W. Chen, Direct Z-scheme CdFe₂O₄/g-C₃N₄ hybrid photocatalysts for highly efficient ceftiofur sodium photodegradation, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 56 (2020) 133-142.

[2] D. Li, W. Shi, Recent developments in visible-light photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics, Chin. J. Catal. 37 (2016) 792-799, doi: 10.1016/S1872-2067(15)61054-3.

[3] T.T. Qian, X.P. Yin, J.H. Li, H.E. Nian, H. Xu, Y. Deng, X. Wang, Nano-TiO₂ decorated radial-like mesoporous silica: Preparation, characterization, and adsorption-photodegradation behavior, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 33 (2017) 1314-1322.

[4] X. Yang, Z. Chen, W. Zhao, C. Liu, X. Qian, M. Zhang, G. Wei, E. Khan, Y.H. Ng, Y.S. Ok, Recent advances in photodegradation of antibiotic residues in water, Chem. Eng. J. 405 (2021) 126806, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.126806.

[5] Z. Wei, J. Liu, W. Shangguan, A review on photocatalysis in antibiotic wastewater: Pollutant degradation and hydrogen production, Chin. J. Catal. 41 (2020) 1440-1450, doi: 10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63448-0.

[6] R. Bariki, D. Majhi, K. Das, A. Behera, B.G. Mishra, Facile synthesis and photocatalytic efficacy of UiO-66/CdIn₂S₄ nanocomposites with flowerlike 3D-microspheres towards aqueous phase decontamination of triclosan and H₂ evolution, Appl. Catal. B 270 (2020) 118882, doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.118882.

[7] R. Bariki, S. Kumar Pradhan, S. Panda, S. Kumar Nayak, D. Majhi, K. Das, B.G. Mishra, In-situ synthesis of structurally oriented hierarchical UiO-66(-NH₂)/CdIn₂S₄/CaIn₂S₄ heterostructure with dual S-scheme engineering for photocatalytic renewable H₂ production and asulam degradation, Sep. Purif. Technol. 314 (2023) 123558, doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2023.123558.

[8] S. Shurbaji, P.T. Huong, T.M. Altahtamouni, Review on the visible light photocatalysis for the decomposition of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides antibiotics in wastewater, Catalysts 11 (2021) 437, doi: 10.3390/catal11040437.

[9] X. He, T. Kai, P. Ding, Heterojunction photocatalysts for degradation of the tetracycline antibiotic: A review, Environ. Chem. Lett. 19 (2021) 4563-4601, doi: 10.1007/s10311-021-01295-8.

[10] R. Ma, Y. Xue, Q. Ma, Y. Chen, S. Yuan, J. Fan, Recent advances in carbon-based materials for adsorptive and photocatalytic antibiotic removal, Nanomaterials 12 (2022) 4045, doi: 10.3390/nano12224045.

[11] R. Yang, Z. Zhu, C. Hu, S. Zhong, L. Zhang, B. Liu, W. Wang, One-step preparation (3D/2D/2D) BiVO₄/FeVO₄@rGO heterojunction composite photocatalyst for the removal of tetracycline and hexavalent chromium ions in water, Chem. Eng. J. 390 (2020) 124522, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.124522.

[12] R. Yang, S. Zhong, L. Zhang, B. Liu, PW12/CN@Bi₂WO₆ composite photocatalyst prepared based on organic-inorganic hybrid system for removing pollutants in water, Sep. Purif. Technol. 235 (2020) 116270, doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2019.116270.

[13] Y. Wang, K. Ding, R. Xu, D. Yu, W. Wang, P. Gao, B. Liu, Fabrication of BiVO₄/BiPO₄/GO composite photocatalytic material for the visible light-driven degradation, J. Clean. Prod. 247 (2020) 119108, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119108.

[14] Y. Wang, D. Yu, W. Wang, P. Gao, S. Zhong, L. Zhang, Q. Zhao, B. Liu, Synthesizing Co₃O₄-BiVO₄/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction composites for superior photocatalytic redox activity, Sep. Purif. Technol. 239 (2020) 116562, doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.116562.

[15] H. Zhang, D. Yu, W. Wang, P. Gao, L. Zhang, S. Zhong, B. Liu, Construction of a novel BON-Br-AgBr heterojunction photocatalysts as a direct Z-scheme system for efficient visible photocatalytic activity, Appl. Surf. Sci. 497 (2019) 143820, doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.143820.

[16] W. Wang, R. Yang, T. Li, S. Komarneni, B. Liu, Advances in recyclable and superior photocatalytic fibers: Material, construction, application and future perspective, Compos. B Eng. 205 (2021) 108512, doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2020.108512.

[17] H. Tong, S. Ouyang, Y. Bi, N. Umezawa, M. Oshikiri, J. Ye, Nano-photocatalytic materials: Possibilities and challenges, Adv. Mater. 24 (2012) 229-251, doi: 10.1002/adma.201102752.

[18] M. Pelaez, N.T. Nolan, S.C. Pillai, M.K. Seery, P. Falaras, A.G. Kontos, P.S. Dunlop, J.W. Hamilton, J.A. Byrne, K. O’shea, A review on the visible light active titanium dioxide photocatalysts for environmental applications, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 125 (2012) 331-349, doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2012.05.036.

[19] J. Low, J. Yu, M. Jaroniec, S. Wageh, A.A. Al-Ghamdi, Heterojunction photocatalysts, Adv. Mater. 29 (2017) 1601694, doi: 10.1002/adma.201601694.

[20] D. Laishram, K.P. Shejale, R. Gupta, R.K. Sharma, Heterostructured HfO₂/TiO₂ spherical nanoparticles for visible photocatalytic water remediation, Mater. Lett. 231 (2018) 225-228, doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2018.08.053.

[21] T.A. Egerton, UV-absorption —The primary process in photocatalysis and some practical consequences, Molecules 19 (2014) 18192-18214, doi: 10.3390/molecules191118192.

[22] M. Grandcolas, A. Lind,3D-printed polyamide structures coated with TiO₂ nanoparticles, towards a 360-degree rotating photocatalytic reactor, Mater. Lett. 307 (2022) 131044, doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2021.131044.

[23] Y. Wang, R. Shi, J. Lin, Y. Zhu, Enhancement of photocurrent and photocatalytic activity of ZnO hybridized with graphite-like C₃N₄, Energy Environ. Sci. 4 (2011) 2922-2929, doi: 10.1039/c0ee00825g.

[24] R. Asahi, T. Morikawa, T. Ohwaki, K. Aoki, Y. Taga, Visible-light photocatalysis in nitrogen-doped titanium oxides, Science 293 (2001) 269-271, doi: 10.1126/science.1061051.

[25] C. Chen, W. Ma, J. Zhao, Semiconductor-mediated photodegradation of pollutants under visible-light irradiation, Chem. Soc. Rev. 39 (2010) 4206-4219, doi: 10.1039/B921692H.

[26] J. Fu, J. Yu, C. Jiang, B. Cheng, g-C₃N₄-based heterostructured photocatalysts, Adv. Energy Mater. 8 (2018) 1701503, doi: 10.1002/aenm.201701503.

[27] Z. Zhao, Y. Sun, F. Dong, Graphitic carbon nitride based nanocomposites: A review, Nanoscale 7 (2015) 15-37, doi: 10.1039/C4NR03008G.

[28] Z. Xu, Y. Gu, Y. An, C. Zhang, Y. Yu, A. Long, L. Huang, P123-modified synthesis of BiOCl nanosheet/bismuth nitrate heterojunctions for photocatalytic pollutant degradation, ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 5 (2022) 931-938, doi: 10.1039/C5CE01787D.

[29] J. Shang, T. Chen, G. Huang, F. Zhou, X. Wang, L. Sun, Oxygen vacancy induced bismuth basic nitrate with excellent photocatalytic activity, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 29 (2018) 18067-18073, doi: 10.1007/s10854-018-9916-0.

[30] S. Sun, W. Zhou, L. Wang, M. Zhang, I. Lawan, L. Wang, F. Zhang, M. Lin, Z. Yuan, Oxygen-vacancy engineering approach to bismuth basic nitrate/g-C₃N₄ heterostructure for efficiently photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 46 (2021) 25832-25842, doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.05.098.

[31] X. Hu, L. Cheng, G. Li, One-pot hydrothermal fabrication of basic bismuth nitrate/BiOBr composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity, Mater. Lett. 203 (2017) 77-80, doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2017.05.123.

[32] Y. Ling, Y. Dai, Direct Z-scheme hierarchical WO₃/BiOBr with enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance under visible light, Appl. Surf. Sci. 509 (2020) 145201, doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.145201.

[33] S. Wang, Y. Wang, S.Q. Zang, X.W. David Lou, Hierarchical hollow heterostructures for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction and water splitting, Small Methods 4 (2020) 1900586, doi: 10.1002/smtd.201900586.

[34] S. Naghdi, A. Cherevan, A. Giesriegl, R. Guillet-Nicolas, S. Biswas, T. Gupta, J. Wang, T. Haunold, B.C. Bayer, G. Rupprechter, M.C. Toroker, F. Kleitz, D. Eder, Selective ligand removal to improve accessibility of active sites in hierarchical MOFs for heterogeneous photocatalysis, Nat. Commun. 13 (2022) 282, doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27775-7.

[35] S. Gong, Q. Han, X. Wang, J. Zhu, Controlled synthesis of bismuth-containing compounds ( a -, $\beta$ - and 𝛿 -Bi₂O₃, Bi₅O₇NO₃ and Bi₆O₆(OH)₂(NO₃)₄·2H₂O) and their photocatalytic performance, CrystEngComm 17 (2015) 9185-9192, doi: 10.1039/C5CE01787D.

[36] S. Sun, W. Xiao, C. You, W. Zhou, Z.N. Garba, L. Wang, Z. Yuan, Methods for preparing and enhancing photocatalytic activity of basic bismuth nitrate, J. Clean. Prod. 294 (2021) 126350, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126350.

[37] X. Liu, S. Shen, C. Xu, X. Li, L. Zhu, X. Wang, Studying photocatalytic dye degradation with bismuth nitrate-derived catalysts using paper microzones method, Mater. Today Chem. 23 (2022) 100667, doi: 10.1016/j.mtchem.2021.100667.

[38] Q. Han, Advances in preparation methods of bismuth-based photocatalysts, Chem. Eng. J. 414 (2021) 127877, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.127877.

[39] Y. Zhang, Z. Xu, Q. Wang, W. Hao, X. Zhai, X. Fei, X. Huang, Y. Bi, Unveiling the activity origin of ultrathin BiOCl nanosheets for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 299 (2021) 120679, doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2021.120679.

[40] J. Li, T. Lu, Z. Zhao, R. Xu, Y. Li, Y. Huang, C. Yang, S. Zhang, Y. Tang, Preparation of heterostructured ternary Cd/CdS/BiOCl photocatalysts for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater, Inorg. Chem. Commun. 121 (2020) 108236, doi: 10.1016/j.inoche.2020.108236.

[41] Z. Long, H. Wang, K. Huang, G. Zhang, H. Xie, Di-functional Cu²⁺-doped BiOCl photocatalyst for degradation of organic pollutant and inhibition of cyanobacterial growth, J. Hazard. Mater. 424 (2022) 127554, doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127554.

[42] H. Zhao, X. Liu, Y. Dong, Y. Xia, H. Wang, A special synthesis of BiOCl photocatalyst for efficient pollutants removal: New insight into the band structure regulation and molecular oxygen activation, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 256 (2019) 117872, doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.117872.

[43] M. Kou, Y. Deng, R. Zhang, L. Wang, P.K. Wong, F. Su, L. Ye, Molecular oxygen activation enhancement by BiOBr_0.5I_0.5/BiOI utilizing the synergistic effect of solid solution and heterojunctions for photocatalytic NO removal, Chin. J. Catal. 41 (2020) 1480-1487, doi: 10.1016/S1872-2067(20)63607-5.

[44] M. Gao, J. Yang, T. Sun, Z. Zhang, D. Zhang, H. Huang, H. Lin, Y. Fang, X. Wang, Persian buttercup-like BiOBr_xCl_1-x solid solution for photocatalytic overall CO₂ reduction to CO and O₂, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 243 (2019) 734-740, doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.11.020.

[45] K. Gao, X. Gao, W. Zhu, C. Wang, T. Yan, F. Fu, J. Liu, C. Liang, Q. Li, The hierarchical layered microsphere of BiOI_xBr_1-x solid solution decorated with N-doped CQDs with enhanced visible light photocatalytic oxidation pollutants, Chem. Eng. J. 406 (2021) 127155, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.127155.

[46] L. Kong, J. Guo, J.W. Makepeace, T. Xiao, H.F. Greer, W. Zhou, Z. Jiang, P.P. Edwards, Rapid synthesis of BiOBr_xI_1-x photocatalysts: Insights to the visible-light photocatalytic activity and strong deviation from Vegard’s law, Catal. Today 335 (2019) 477-484, doi: 10.1016/j.cattod.2019.02.013.

[47] Y. Gao, W. Yang, X. Shan, Y. Chen, Synthesis of “walnut-like ” BiOCl/Br solid solution photocatalyst by electrostatic self-assembly method, Int. J. Energy Res. 44 (2020) 2226-2242, doi: 10.1002/er.5084.

[48] L. Qi, Y. Yang, P. Zhang, Y. Le, C. Wang, T. Wu, Hierarchical flower-like BiOI_xBr_{1 - x} solid solution spheres with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity, Appl. Surf. Sci. 467 (2019) 792-801, doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.10.184.