AUTHOR=Li Shijie , Jiang Wei , Xu Kaibing , Hu Shiwei , Liu Yu , Zhou Yingtang , Liu Jianshe 

TITLE=Synthesis of Flower-Like AgI/BiOCOOH p-n Heterojunctions With Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance for the Removal of Toxic Pollutants

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.00518

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2018.00518

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>In this study, flower-like AgI/BiOCOOH heterojunctions were constructed through a two-step procedure involving the solvothermal synthesis of BiOCOOH microflowers followed by AgI modification using a precipitation method. These novel photocatalysts were systematically examined by XRD, UV–vis DRS, SEM, TEM, EDS, and PL spectroscopy techniques. The AgI/BiOCOOH heterojunction were studied as a decent photocatalyst for the removal of the industrial dye (rhodamine B, and methyl blue) and antibiotic (tetracycline) under visible light. The AgI/BiOCOOH heterojunctions are much more active than bare BiOCOOH, and AgI, which could be ascribed to the improved separation of charge carriers, resulting from the formation of p-n heterojunction between two constituents. The holes (h<sup>+</sup>) and superoxide radical (•O<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>-</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math></inline-formula>) were detected as the main active species responsible for the pollutant degradation. The results showed that a highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic system was developed for the decomposition of toxic pollutants.</p>