BiOCl with a favorable surface state regulated by polyhydroxylated disaccharides for dramatically accelerated photodegradation capacity

Abstract

Disaccharides not only act as capping agents to regulate the morphology of catalysts, but their hydroxyl groups are also able to bind to chloride ions, resulting in the formation of surface active zones. In this study, a series of BiOCl were prepared by adding different types of disaccharides as modifiers at room temperature. BiOCl regulated by polyhydroxylated disaccharides exhibits powerful photo-oxidation performance for high concentration methyl orange, rhodamine B, tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin, and possesses superior electrochemical properties. The dramatically improved photocatalytic activity is ascribed to the surface structure reconstruction of BiOCl in interaction with the polyhydroxylated disaccharides, which facilitates the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. The results from this study highlight the significance of polyhydroxylated disaccharides in boosting the properties of bismuth-based photocatalysts for the photodegradation of organic pollutants.