2D/2D g-C 3 N 4 /BiOCl with oxygen vacancy heterostructure by grinding for improved visible-light-driven photocatalyst

Abstract Here, a novel 2D/2D g-C3N4/BiOCl (CN/BOC) heterojunction photocatalyst is synthesized by grinding at room temperature. The porous CN nanosheets not only facilitate the in situ nucleation and growth of BOC to form thin nanosheets and constitute an intimate contact interface, but also introduce more oxygen vacancies (OVs) in the grinding process. The 2D/2D structure of the CN/BOC heterojunction has a good interface and generates a built-in electric field, which can improve the photogenerated e− and h+ separation. The synergistic effect of the heterostructure and OVs makes the photocatalyst function significantly better than the single CN and BOC under visible light. The preferred CN/BOC-5 heterojunction of the degradation rate for tetracycline (TC) is 89.8% within 2 h, which is 1.9 and 1.2 times faster than CN and BOC. It also reduced CO2 to CO at a rate of 2.00 µ mol h− 1 g− 1, 1.1 and 3.2 times faster than CN and BOC, respectively. The mechanism for the photocatalytic of CN/BOC-5 is revealed. It implies, that the effectiveness of photo-induced carrier separation and visible-light photo-absorption are both considerably increased by the synergistic interaction between OVs and 2D/2D heterojunction. This research may open up new possibilities for the logical design of effective photocatalysts through 2D/2D heterojunctions with OVs as an easy way for environmental remediation.