Interlocked 3D active carbon fibers and monolithic I-doped Bi2O2CO3 structure built by 2D face-to-face interaction: endowed with cycling stability and photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Photocatalysis is considered a remarkable green method in the catalytic degradation of wastewater; however, the collection and loading of the powdered catalyst is still a problem. The traditional coating methods are usually unstable for the (photo-)degradation of organic binders. Herein, monolithic structures based on 2D–2D interactions instead of traditional 0D–0D and 1D–1D interactions were designed and constructed, realizing an interlocked structure with 3D active carbon fiber networks via the self-assembly of Bi₂O₂CO₃ nanosheets (B-ACF) during the hydrothermal process. The loaded catalyst was further modified via an I-doping improvement strategy (4B-ACF-I), which exhibited 8 times the catalytic activity as compared to the intrinsic Bi₂O₂CO₃. Thanks to the 3D monolithic and interlocked structure of loaded catalysts, B-ACF-I photocatalysts could be reused without any loss of catalytic activity during the cycling stability test. The expanded experiment and the removal of Cr(VI) under visible light prove that our improvement strategy can be considered even in actual wastewater treatment.