Co dopant anchored in the BiOIO3 nanosheets to induce oxygen vacancies for enhanced photocatalytic activity

BiOIO3 has a broad prospect in photocatalytic oxidation, but during photochemical process, the overall efficiency of photocatalysis is not satisfactory due to the short carrier lifetime and the easy recombination of electron-hole pairs. To address these issues, Co2+-doped BiOIO3 photocatalysts were successfully prepared using a hydrothermal method by induce oxygen vacancies to enhanced photocatalytic activity of the photocatalysts. The prepared catalysts are not only cost-effective, but also simple in the preparation process and have long-lasting stability while maintaining high photocatalytic activity. The Co-doped BiOIO3 photocatalysts exhibited high photocatalytic mercury removal efficiencies of up to 91.0 % in the photocatalytic removal experiments of gaseous mercury. The optimal doping ratio sample could still reach 83. 58 % after a 660 min long-term photocatalytic experiment, which proves that the Co ion-doped BiOIO3 photocatalyst has good stability. The energy band structure of Co-doped photocatalysts was analyzed based on density-functional theory (DFT), and the mechanism of photocatalyst activity enhancement by Co-doping was proposed in conjunction with experimental and characterization. The findings of this research provide a valuable reference for future investigations on the coupling of transition metal ions with photocatalysts, and establishes a strong foundation for multivariate coupling or bimetallic ion doping of the three, and offers a realistic technological path for the creation of highly stable and effective photocatalysts used to remediate air pollution.