Fabrication of CuFe2O4/Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst with intrinsic p-n junction for highly efficient bisphenol A degradation

Abstract

The construction and application of novel highly efficient photocatalysts have been the focus in the field of environmental pollutant removal. In this work, a novel CuFe₂O₄/Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂ photocatalysts were synthesized by simple hydrothermal and chemical precipitation method. The fabricated CuFe₂O₄/Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂ composite exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than pristine CuFe₂O₄ and Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂ in the removal of bisphenol A (BPA) under visible-light illumination, which ascribed to the intrinsic p-n junction of CuFe₂O₄ and Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂. The photocatalytic degradation rate of BPA on CuFe₂O₄/Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂ with an optimized CuFe₂O₄ content (1.0 wt.%) reached 93.0% within 30 min. The capture experiments of active species confirmed that the hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide radicals (•O₂⁻) played crucial roles in photocatalytic BPA degradation process. Furthermore, the possible degradation mechanism and pathways of BPA was proposed according to the detected intermediates in photocatalytic reaction process.