Harnessing efficient in-situ H2O2 production via a KPF6/BiOBr photocatalyst for the degradation of polyethylene

[Display omitted] •KPF6 doped BiOBr were successfully synthesized using a simple one-pot hydrothermal method.•The photocatalytic H2O2production of 20 wt% KPF6/BiOBris 1.96 times higher than pure BiOBr.•Plastic bags were decomposed by KPF6/BiOBr in conjunction with the in-situ generation of H2O2.•Hydroxyl radicals play a key role in the polyethylene degradation.•A potential mechanism for H2O2 production and polyethylene degradation was proposed. The development of cost-effective dual-function photocatalytic materials to advance clean energy generation and storage combined with superior pollutant degradation performance has thus far remained challenging. For this study, potassium hexafluorophosphate (KPF6) was introduced to modify BiOBr via a simple one-pot hydrothermal method, where uniformly dispersed KPF6 on BiOBr nanosheets improved H2O2 yields and the pollutant degradation performance. Such materials have proven to be critical for low bandgap and enhanced surface charge separation for efficient H2O2 production. The optimized sample of 20 wt% KPF6/BiOBr showed a H2O2 production rate of 53.36 mg·L–1, which was much higher than that of pure BiOBr (27.19 mg·L–1). Nitroblue tetrazolium chloride (NBT) superoxide radical detection results suggested that two-step single-electron oxygen reduction was the primary pathway. More importantly, discarded polyethylene bags from supermarkets have been decomposed though the in-situ generation of H2O2 using KPF6/BiOBr materials, and the mass loss of plastics was 2.33 times higher than that of the pure BiOBr. This research offers new perspectives toward the development of new functionalized materials for H2O2 production, while improving capacities for the degradation of plastics.