Synergistic effects of rare earth doping and carbon quantum dots on BiOF/Bi2MoO6 heterojunctions for enhanced visible-near-infrared photocatalysis

Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of rare earth doped BiOF/Bi2MoO6 heterojunctions. The doping locations of rare earth ions were altered to determine the influence on the visible and near-infrared photocatalytic activity of heterojunctions. It is experimentally and theoretically confirmed that doping with Tm3+/Yb3+ in one semiconductor of the heterojunction produces superior photocatalytic efficiency than doping in both semiconductors. In addition, the near infrared photocatalytic efficiency strongly relied on upconversion luminescence from the Re3+ doped semiconductor in the heterojunction. By further modifying with CQDs, the CQDs/BiOF:Tm3+,Yb3+/Bi2MoO6 sample shows excellent visible and near-infrared photocatalytic performance, with 90% degradation of RhB occurring in the first 20 min under visible irradiation. This can be attributed to the large BET area, efficient photoinduced carrier separation and the upconversion process of the composite. This research will provide a systematic solution for realizing full-spectrum responsive and highly efficient photocatalysis by combination of rare earth ion doping, quantum dot modification and Z-scheme heterojunctions.