Recyclable Carbon Nanofibers@Hierarchical I-Doped Bi2O2CO3–MoS2 Membranes for Highly Efficient Water Remediation under Visible-Light Irradiation

Unique hierarchical photocatalytic carbon nanofibers (CNFs)@I-doped Bi2O2CO3–MoS2 membranes were designed and fabricated and applied for efficient water remediation under visible-light irradiation. First, I-doped Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets were uniformly decorated on the surface of CNFs. The introduction of iodine element resulted in narrowing of the bandgap of Bi2O2CO3 because CO32– was partly replaced by I–, thereby enhancing the absorption intensity of the photocatalyst to visible light and improving its photocatalytic efficiency. Subsequently, thinner MoS2 nanoflakes were also modified on the surface of the CNFs and in the gaps between the I-doped Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets using a hydrothermal method; this modification was beneficial to electronic transmission and prevented the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. This new photocatalytic CNFs@I-doped Bi2O2CO3–MoS2 nanocomposite exhibited excellent photodegradation ability for eliminating the refractory pollutant Rhodamine B (RhB) from wastewater. Complete degradation of 50 mL of RhB (1.0 × 10–5 M) was achieved using 50 mg of CNFs@I-doped Bi2O2CO3–MoS2 within 5 min. Moreover, the photocatalyst membrane was stable and recyclable after multiple runs. All of these factors demonstrate the potential application of this photocatalyst in the removal of RhB from wastewater.