One stone, three birds: up-conversion, photothermal and p-n heterojunction to boost BiOBr:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺/Cu₃Mo₂O₉ full spectrum photodegradation

Abstract

Broadening spectral response range to realize the full spectrum photocatalysis is crucial to develop photocatalysts with satisfactory light-energy conversion ability. A full-spectrum driven p-n heterojunction photocatalytic system was rationally designed through introducing the Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped BiOBr with up-conversion effect as the collector of near infrared light and photocatalysts substrate. Meanwhile, Cu₃Mo₂O₉ with the photothermal effect as a heat source to accelerate the reaction at the surface through absorbing the near infrared light. The photocatalytic activity of BiOBr:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺/Cu₃Mo₂O₉ composite was markedly strengthened under visible and near infrared light irradiation, and the BiOBr:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺/Cu₃Mo₂O₉-5 composite displayed the optimal photodegradation activities for 0.03372 min^–1 and 0.058 h^–1, being 2.3-folds and 2.4-folds than that of pure BiOBr:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺ under the visible and near infrared light, respectively. The position of doped ions (Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺) in BiOBr:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺ was determined from the X-ray absorption fine structure spectra. And the reasonable mechanism of p-n heterojunction was proposed base on the results of experimental and density functional theory calculation. This work provides a rational strategy for the design and development of full-spectrum heterojunction photocatalysts with the up-conversion and photothermal effects to increase the photocatalytic performance.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

photocatalyst / full spectrum / p-n heterojunction / photothermal effect / up-conversion

References

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant Nos. ZR2022ME179, ZR2021QE086), Liaocheng Key Research and Development Program (Policy Guidance Category) (Grant No. 2022YDSF89), and Liaocheng University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (Grant No. 2020205963). The authors acknowledge the 4B9A station of the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-024-2469-2 and is accessible for authorized users.

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