Synthesis of Fe and N Co-doped Bi2Ti2O7 Nanofiber with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light Irradiation

A series of N-Fe-Bi2Ti2O7 nanofibers were successfully synthesized. The structure, morphology, visible light photocatalytic properties, and the degradation mechanism of N-Fe-Bi2Ti2O7 were investigated. A new phase of Bi4Ti3O7 and smaller band gap could be observed after doing Fe and N into Bi2Ti2O7. It can degrade 66 % MO and 87 % MB in 120 min under visible light irradiation, which is much more than that of pure Bi2Ti2O7. The results indicate that such unique structure could enhance the charge transfer between the nanostructure interfaces and therefore improve its photocatalytic activities.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of the Carbon Quantum Dot-Modified BiOI Microsphere

Novel carbon quantum dot (CQD)-modified BiOI photocatalysts were prepared via a facile hydrothermal process. The CQD-modified BiOI materials were characterized by multiple techniques. The CQD with an average size around several nanometers was distributed on the surface of BiOI microsphere. Its photocatalytic activity was investigated sufficiently by the photodegradation of methylene orange (MO). The results showed that the CQD/BiOI 1.5 wt.% sample exhibited the optimum photocatalytic activity, which was 2.5 times that of the pure BiOI. This improvement was attributed to the crucial role of CQDs, which could be acted as a photocenter for absorbing solar light, charge separation center for suppressing charge recombination.