Fabrication of (H2PO4-, Ni2+) - α-Fe2O3/Bi2S3 heterojunction photocatalysts with improved visible-light catalytic activity

In this work, the (H2PO4-, Ni2+) - alpha-Fe2O3(PNF) with abundant oxygen vacancies (OVs) was synthesized, and PNF/Bi2S3 heterojunction photocatalysts were then prepared by hydrothermal process. The obtained PNF showed higher photo-Fenton degradation activity. In comparison with PNF and Bi2S3, the prepared PNF/Bi2S3 composites significantly improved the photocatalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) under visible-light illumination. The production of active species was accelerated in the composite system through the synergistic effect of OVs, heterojunction, and photo-Fenton, resulting in high p-NP degradation efficiency. The PNF/B-2 composite exhibited the highest photocatalytic-Fenton degradation activity, which could be used as a high-performance visible-light-driven photocatalyst for the degradation of difficult-to-degrade pollutants.