One-Step Fabrication Of 2d/2d Z-Scheme Biocl/G-C3n4 Nanosheets Heterojunction For Efficient Degradation Of Rhb And Cr(Vi) Ions Reduction Under Visible-Light Illumination

To promote the utilization efficiency of solar energy, a one-step strategy to fabricate 2D/2D Z-scheme BiOCl/g-C3N4 nanosheets (BiOCl/CNs) heterojunction through the in-situ growth of BiOCl on CNs was studied. Here, we report that ultrathin CNs with wrinkled surface are prepared by a rapid cooling method. The wrinkled surface of CNs provided more active sites for BiOCl to anchor on it thus facilitating the formation of the tight heterojunction structure via a solvothermal process. The as-prepared BiOCl/CNs hybrid photocatalysts was confirmed by various physicochemical characterizations. The results showed the uniform distribution of BiOCl nanoflakes on g-C3N4 nanosheets and formation of 2D/2D Z-scheme heterojunction structure. The as-prepared BiOCl/CNs-5 photocatalyst displays extraordinarily photocatalytic activity for the photocatalytic degradation of RhB and Cr(VI) reduction under visible light irradiation, about 94 % RhB and 93 % Cr(VI) was degraded in 100 min. The remarkable photocatalytic properties were attributed to the Z-scheme hierarchical structure, large specific surface and efficient charge carrier separation. Furthermore, the Z-scheme photocatalytic reaction mechanism was presented to elucidate the improved photocatalytic activity of BiOCl/CNs photocatalyst. The photodegradation of phenol and radical species trapping experiments were conducted to prove the formation of Z-scheme. This work provides a facile route for the construction of g-C3N4 based Z-scheme structure photocatalyst for efficient visible light photocatalytic performance.