Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of tungsten-doped BiOCl

In this work, W-doped BiOCl nanoplates were successfully fabricated through a simple hydrothermal method. Results show that W doping has a negligible impact on the crystalline structures, morphology, and specific surface area of BiOCl. However, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) data indicated that W doping shifts the absorption to the longer wavelength and enhances light absorption. The photocatalytic performance of the products was investigated by photodegrading RhB under light irradiation. Adding W not only kept the photocatalytic performance of BiOCl under UV light but also displayed excellent photocatalytic activity under visible irradiation. In contrast, the photocatalytic activity of pure BiOCl under visible irradiation was negligible. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of W-doped BiOCl in comparison to pure BiOCl was attributed to the reduction of band gap and the increase in light absorption due to W energy band forming in the band gap of BiOCl.

Keywords:

W-doped BiOCl , Photocatalytic activity , Visible light , Rhodamine B.