One step in situ synthesis of Bi2S3/Bi2O2CO3/Bi3O4Cl ternary heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance

In this work, a Bi2S3/Bi2O2CO3/Bi3O4Cl ternary heterojunction was constructed in situ using a one-step hydrothermal method for the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and rhodamine B (RhB). For the Bi2S3/Bi2O2CO3/Bi3O4Cl ternary heterojunction, Bi3O4Cl provided the bismuth source to generate tightly bonded heterojunctions in situ. Bi2O2CO3 formed from the thiourea and CO2 in air was used as a trap for the photogenerated electrons of Bi3O4Cl and Bi2S3. The Bi2S3 from thiourea improved the optical properties of the catalyst. Compared with pure Bi3O4Cl, Bi2S3/Bi2O2CO3/Bi3O4Cl (BBS-0.2) which was prepared by adding 0.2 mol thiourea and 0.3 g Bi3O4Cl to 60 mL deionized water, showed a better photocatalytic performance. The degradation efficiencies of 87.2% CIP in 80 min and 64.8% RhB in 180 min under light irradiation, are 2.4 times and 2.0 times of Bi3O4Cl, respectively. The feasible preparation of Bi2S3/Bi2O2CO3/Bi3O4Cl could provide as applicable reference for the development Bi-ternary heterojunction with high photocatalytic performance.