Enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalysis of in-situ reduced of bismuth on BiOCl nanosheets and montmorillonite loading: Synergistic effect and mechanism insight

Various improvement strategies have been developed to enhance the visible light photocatalytic properties of materials. In these enhancement strategies, bismuth, a non-noble metal-based plasma metal, is deposited on the surface of the photocatalyst, which can improve the visible light response and photocatalytic performance of the photocatalyst. Herein, we constructed montmorillonite loaded BiOCl nanosheets with in situ reduced bismuth by one-step hydrothermal method. As for the results of TEM analysis, the in-situ reduced bismuth nanoparticles with diameters of 5–20 nm were evenly distributed on the surface of BiOCl nanosheets. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of semi metallic bismuth nanoparticles on the BiOCl nanosheets, the light absorption range of the modified photocatalyst was expanded and its absorption band gap (Eg) was reduced from 3.16 eV (pure BiOCl) to 2.26 eV. Besides, the results of dark adsorption experiments confirmed that the montmorillonite supporter greatly enhanced the adsorption capacity of the modified photocatalyst for pollutants. Moreover, the radical species trapping tests revealed that •O2− and h+ were the pivotal active agents in the pollutant degradation process. The visible light driven photocatalytic degradation rate of TCs and RhB by the modified photocatalyst was 3 and 4 times higher than that of pure BiOCl because of the synergistic effect of montmorillonite supporter and bismuth nanoparticles. The present work provides an innovative strategy for the great feasibility of fabricating low-cost clay and effective bismuth nanoparticles as a substitute for noble metal in environmental pollutants degradation. [Display omitted] •Bismuth nanoparticles were in-situ reduced on the surface of BiOCl nanosheets.•SPR effect enhanced the photocatalytic performance driven by visible light.•MMT supporter enhanced the adsorption capacity for pollutants.••O2− and h+ were the pivotal active agents in the pollutant degradation process.