Photodegradation of organic dyes with anatase TiO2 nanoparticles-loaded BiOCl nanosheets with exposed {001} facets under simulated solar light

TiO2/BiOCl nanocomposite photocatalysts were synthesized by a simple chemical coprecipitation method. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observations confirm that anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with diameters of about 5–10 nm were loaded on the BiOCl nanosheets with the exposed {001} facets. Adsorption and photocatalytic activity of the samples were evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) in the dark and under simulated solar light, respectively. Pure BiOCl and TiO2/BiOCl nanocomposite photocatalysts showed high adsorption ability for RhB and a relatively poor adsorption ability for MO. The results of the photodegradation experiments indicated that 20 wt% TiO2/BiOCl nanocomposite shows the highest photocatalytic activity for RhB, whereas 15 wt% TiO2/BiOCl nanocomposite photocatalyst shows the highest photocatalytic activity for MO. On the basis of experimental results, the mechanisms for the enhanced adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity are discussed. In particular, the 20 wt% TiO2/BiOCl nanocomposite photocatalyst shows good chemical stability and photocatalytic activity during five consecutive cycles of RhB photodegradation. The TiO2/BiOCl nanocomposite photocatalyst could also be easily recovered by sedimentation due to higher density of BiOCl (7.72 g cm−3) compared to that of TiO2 (4.23 g cm−3).