Construction of 2D/2D Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2: Effective charge separation and improved photocatalytic activity

•The 2D/2D Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst was prepared.•Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 exhibits accelerated the separation of photogenerated carriers.•Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 shows good photocatalytic activity and stability under visible light. Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 composites were prepared by a simple ultrasonic composite method.Afterwards, the successful preparation of Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 composites were proved by XRD, TEM, XPS, BET and DRS analysis. Furthermore, the degradation ability of rhodamine B (RhB) was measured, the degradation rate constant of Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 composite with Ti3C2 mass fraction of 2% was 0.17406 min−1, which was 5.5 times as high as Bi12O17Cl2 (0.03186 min−1). After 5 cycles of experiments, the degradation rate remained at 93.8%. Owing to the introduction of Ti3C2, the migration of photogenerated electrons and holes over Bi12O17Cl2 has been promoted, and the photocatalytic activity of Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 composites has been significantly improved. A highly active photocatalyst was proposed. Ti3C2/Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst with excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light was prepared, and its photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed. [Display omitted]