Bi2O2CO3/TiO2 hybrid with 0D/1D nanostructure: design, synthesis and photocatalytic performance

Photocatalytic technology is a potential technology to meet energy and environmental requirements. Herein, the solvothermal method was used for the first time to synthesize a Bi2O2CO3/TiO2 hybrid with 0D/1D nanostructure, and the obtained materials were characterized systematically. In the architecture of the composite, Bi2O2CO3 quantum dots (QDs) (1.40-1.50 nm) uniformly grew on the surface of TiO2 nanobelts (NBs). The degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation was applied to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the obtained materials. Of them, TB-3 exhibited the best photocatalytic performance, and more than 95.43% RhB was degraded under visible light. The reaction rate constant is 18.51 x 10(-3) min(-1), which is nine times larger than that of TiO2 NBs. Moreover, it exhibited remarkable stability and recyclability in a recycling experiment. According to the photoelectric characterization, the excellent performance may be attributed to the construction of a heterojunction and hybrid structure with 0D Bi2O2CO3 QDs and 1D TiO2 NBs, which endows the catalyst with faster migration of photo-generated carriers and less recombination of electron/hole pairs. Our work provides a promising method to build novel visible light-driven photocatalysts with a 0D/1D hybrid structure.