Abstract
This research represents a highly enhanced visible light photocatalytic removal of 450ppb level of nitric oxide (NO) in air by utilizing flower-like hierarchical porous BiOI/BiOCl composites synthesized by a room temperature template free method for the first time. The facile synthesis method avoids high temperature treatment, use of organic precursors and production of undesirable organic byproducts during synthesis process. The result indicated that the as-prepared BiOI/BiOCl composites samples were solid solution and were self-assembled hierarchically with single-crystal nanoplates. The aggregation of the self-assembled nanoplates resulted in the formation of 3D hierarchical porous architecture containing tri-model mesopores. The coupling to BiOI with BiOCl led to down-lowered valence band (VB) and up-lifted conduction band (CB) in contrast to BiOI, making the composites suitable for visible light excitation. The BiOI/BiOCl composites samples exhibited highly enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity for removal of NO in air due to the large surface areas and pore volume, hierarchical structure and modified band structure, exceeding that of P25, BiOI, C-doped TiO2and Bi2WO6. This research results could provide a cost-effective approach for the synthesis of porous hierarchical materials and enhancement of photocatalyst performance for environmental and energetic applications owing to its low cost and easy scaling up.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 26-34 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Hazardous Materials |
Volume | 219-220 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Jun 2012 |
Keywords
- BiOI/BiOCl composites
- Nitric oxide
- Photocatalytic activity
- Template free
- Visible light
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Chemistry
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Pollution
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis