Non-additional carbon source one-step synthesis of Bi2O2CO3-based ternary composite for efficient Z-scheme photocatalysis

Abstract Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 -based ternary composite materials are generally synthesized by two- or multi-step method and special precursor of CO 3 2- is usually utilized in synthesis of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 , which are time-consuming, laborious and relatively costly. In this paper, for the first time, a facile one-step solvothermal method is used to fabricate Z-scheme Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /Bi/Bi 2 WO 6 ternary composites. Interestingly, ethylene glycol not only acts as solvent for the reaction system, but also reduced Bi 3+ into metallic Bi and itself is oxidized to CO 3 2- , which could construct Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 . On this occasion, Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /Bi/Bi 2 WO 6 ternary composites are obtained after one-step method. High resolution transmission electron microscopy clearly reveals each component in composites. The as-prepared samples could be applied in various photocatalytic activities. Under solar light irradiation, Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /Bi/Bi 2 WO 6 composites exhibited prominent photodegradation performances for both ciprofloxacin and bisphenol A. Meanwhile, these composites could also be used in efficient photoreduction of CO 2 . The efficient photocatalytic activity could be mainly ascribed to Z-scheme electron transfer mechanism in ternary composites, which is determined by surface redox reactions, active species trapping experiment, electron spin resonance spectrum.