A novel ternary Bi4NbO8Cl/BiOCl/Nb2O5 architecture via in-situ solvothermal-induced electron-trap with enhanced photocatalytic activities

[Display omitted] •A novel Bi4NbO8Cl/BiOCl/Nb2O5 ternary hybrid photocatalyst was fabricated.•The Cl- exist in NbCl5 raw material play a key role in producing BiOCl.•10% Bi4NbO8Cl/BiOCl/Nb2O5 (10% BBN) possess enhanced photocatalytic activity. Altering the semiconductor composition and suitable energy levels to form a cascade structure is a feasible approach to achieve superior photocatalytic activity. In this study, Bi4NbO8Cl was prepared by a ball milling-calcination method. And one-pot hydrothermal process was developed as a new strategy to synthesize ternary Bi4NbO8Cl/BiOCl/Nb2O5 (BBN) composites, where ultrafine Nb2O5 nanoparticles and BiOCl were in-situ grown and loaded on the surface of Bi4NbO8Cl using NbCl5 as raw material. An enhanced photocatalytic performance towards RhB removal by Bi4NbO8Cl/BiOCl/Nb2O5 is assigned to the in-situ formation of intimated interfaces contacts among Bi4NbO8Cl, BiOCl and Nb2O5, and suitable conduction band (CB) alignments in the ternary hybrid. The staggered energy levels inhibit the recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs and increase the separation efficiency of charge carriers, subsequently enhances the photocatalytic efficiency.