Regulation of surface plasmon resonance and oxygen vacancy defects in chlorine doped Bi-BiO2-x for imidacloprid photocatalytic degradation

In this work, chlorine doped Bi-BiO2-x (Cl-Bi-BiO2-x) was prepared by a one-step solvothermal method using sodium bismuthate (NaBiO3 center dot 2H(2)O) as a Bi source without the addition of a surfactant. Both time and temperature of solvothermal reaction may regulate the amount of Bi-0 deposition in the photocatalyst, causing surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and oxygen vacancy defects (OVDs). The synergistic effect of SRP and OVD promotes the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, shortens the bandgap, and enhances the optical absorptivity. Imidacloprid, a widely used insecticide, was selected to explore such photocatalysts with controlled OVD and SPR for potential application in pesticide photo-degradation in aqueous solution. Cl-Bi-BiO2-x with a rationally coordinating OVD and SPR shows a narrower band gap, wider light absorption, higher separation efficiency of photo-generated charges and faster pollutant degradation, supporting a green method to synthesize bismuth-based photocatalysts and facilitating the study on the synergistic effect of SPR and OVD on photocatalysts.