Enhanced photocatalytic performance of TiO2 NTs decorated with chrysanthemum-like BiOI nanoflowers

Abstract The BiOI nanosheets/chrysanthemum-like nanoflowers were successfully deposited on the surface of TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2 NTs) by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method, and the morphology and visible light response of samples with different SILAR deposition cycles were investigated in detail. The as-prepared BiOI/TiO2 NTs significantly enhanced photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activity for the removal of Methyl orange (MO), Rhodamine B (RhB), Methylene blue (MB) and Cr(VI). The as-prepared Sample-7 with chrysanthemum-like nanostructures showed the high visible light photocurrent density of 120.06 μA/cm2, photovoltage of −203.61 mV/cm2, PEC efficiencies of 45%, 62%, 79% and 77% for the removal of MO, RhB, MB and Cr(VI), respectively. The high PEC performances could be ascribed to the excellent visible light response and charge carrier transportation in chrysanthemum-like BiOI nanoflowers. By further probing the charge separation and transportation behaviors, the experiments of the energy band structure and active species trapping were carried out. A possible p-n heterojunction photocatalytic mechanism was proposed, which not only benefited the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons but also demonstrated the advanced capacity for the PEC removal of organic dyes and heavy metal ions.