Enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance of a novel heterostructured Bi4Ti3O12/BiOBr photocatalyst

A novel Bi4Ti3O12/BiOBr heterojunction photocatalyst was successfully fabricated for the first time through a traditional solid state method combined with a successive in situ growth method. The as-formed BiOBr nanosheets with diameters in the range of 100-200 nm were embedded homogenously on the surface of Bi4Ti3O12 particles. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degradation of pure silk dyeing wastewater and antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and tetracycline) under visible light (lambda > 400 nm). The Bi4Ti3O12/BiOBr heterojunction photocatalyst has a higher photocatalytic activity than pure Bi4Ti3O12 and BiOBr. The Bi4Ti3O12/BiOBr composite presented a significantly improved ability of Acid Blue dye and antibiotic photodegradation, which is almost 1.3 and 1.5 times higher than that of pure Bi4Ti3O12 and BiOBr, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the effective separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs driven by the p-n junction formed in heterostructured Bi4Ti3O12/BiOBr.