Accessible fabrication and mechanism insight of heterostructured BiOCl/Bi^sub 2^MoO^sub 6^/g-C^sub 3^N^sub 4^ nanocomposites with efficient photosensitized activity

Semiconductor nanostructures perform wide applications in light-driven physical and chemical processes; the photophysical and chemical properties of semiconductors can be adjusted by changing their shape, size and composition. To investigate the effect of g-C3N4 loadings on the nonlinear optical and photocatalytic performances, a series of novel BiOCl/Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4 nanocomposites loaded with different g-C3N4 contents was prepared via a facile refluxing process. The existence of strong interfacial interactions between BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 and g-C3N4 was confirmed by a series of characterization techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photoluminescence and nanosecond time-resolved emission confirmed that the interface charge separation efficiency of BiOCl/Bi2MoO6/0.10C3N4 was greatly improved, resulting in a higher activity toward photodegradation of Rhodamine B and a higher photocurrent density. The associated photocatalytic activity of BiOCl/Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4 nanocomposites is shown to be dependent on the g-C3N4 loadings. An improved nonlinear optical performance was also observed for BiOCl/Bi2MoO6/0.10C3N4 nanocomposite. These results reveal the photosensitized mechanisms of BiOCl/Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4, and demonstrate their practical use as recyclable photocatalyst and optical limiters. This method may usher a new phase for the preparation of novel and highly efficient ternary heterostructures for energy conversion, light harvesting and optical limiting applications.