Bi2O2CO3 Nanosheet Composites with Bi-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks for Photocatalytic H2O2 Production

Heterojunction integration of inorganic semiconductors with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is verified to be a rational strategy to achieve efficient charge separation and to enhance photocatalytic performance. In this work, Bi2O2CO3/Bi-MOF heterostructures were fabricated by an in situ surface trimesic acid (H3BTC) etching method. First, Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets were prepared by the chemical precipitation method. After adding to H3BTC, the rod-shaped Bi-MOF was firmly anchored on Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets because of the reaction of Bi3+ in Bi2O2CO3 with H3BTC. As a result, Bi2O2CO3/Bi-MOF composites displayed enhanced photocatalytic H2O2 production capacities with 280.5 mu mol/g/h under simulated sunlight illumination, which is 11.23 and 6.06 times higher than pure Bi2O2CO3 and Bi-MOF, respectively. The excellent H2O2 yield can be attributed to the formation of the in-close contact heterostructure and the internal electric field between Bi2O2CO3 and Bi-MOF, which is conducive to inhibiting the recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs at the interfaces, thus showing high photocatalytic H2O2 production performance. This work can inspire exploration of the construction of effective inorganic/MOF hybrid heterostructures for photocatalytic H2O2 production.