Ag3VO4 Nanoparticles Decorated Bi2O2CO3 Micro-Flowers: An Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst for the Removal of Toxic Contaminants

Shijie Li; Shiwei Hu; Wei Jiang; Yu Liu; Yanping Liu; Yingtang Zhou; Liuye Mo; Jianshe Liu

doi:10.3389/fchem.2018.00255

Ag₃VO₄ Nanoparticles Decorated Bi₂O₂CO₃ Micro-Flowers: An Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst for the Removal of Toxic Contaminants

Front Chem. 2018 Jun 27:6:255. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00255. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Shijie Li¹, Shiwei Hu¹, Wei Jiang¹, Yu Liu¹, Yanping Liu², Yingtang Zhou¹, Liuye Mo¹, Jianshe Liu³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Key Technical Factors in Zhejiang Seafood Health Hazards, Institute of Innovation & Application, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China.
² Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China.
³ State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Semiconductor-based photocatalysis is of great potential for tackling the environmental pollution. Herein, a novel hierarchical heterostructure of Bi₂O₂CO₃ micro-flowers in-situ decorated with Ag₃VO₄ nanoparticles was developed by a facile method. Various characterization techniques have been employed to study the physical and chemical property of the novel catalyst. The novel catalyst was utilized for the photocatalytic removal of industrial dyes (rhodamine B, methyl orange) and tetracycline antibiotic under visible-light irradiation. The results indicated that Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ heterojunctions showed a remarkably enhanced activity, significantly higher than those of bare Ag₃VO₄, Bi₂O₂CO₃, and the physical mixture of Ag₃VO₄ and Bi₂O₂CO₃ samples. This could be ascribed to an enhanced visible-light harvesting capacity and effective separation of charge carriers by virtue of the construction of hierarchical Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ heterojunction. Moreover, Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ also possesses an excellent cycling stability. The outstanding performance of Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ in removal of toxic pollutants indicates the potential of Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ in real environmental remediation. Highlights Novel architectures of Ag₃VO₄ nanoparticles modified Bi₂O₂CO₃ micro-flowers were constructed.Novel Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity and stability.Ag₃VO₄/Bi₂O₂CO₃ heterojunctions significantly promote the charge separation.

Keywords: Ag3VO4; Bi2O2CO3; heterojunction; toxic pollutant removal; visible-light-driven.