Construction of H-TiO2/BiOCl heterojunction with improved photocatalytic activity under the visible and near-infrared light

Abstract It still is difficult issue to exploit the efficient photocatalysts that can response broad solar spectrum from visible to near-infrared (NIR) region. Herein, the H-TiO2/BiOCl heterojunctions are constructed firstly by a facile solvothermal method. The transfer and separation efficiency of charge carriers are improved distinctly owing to the modification effects of H-TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of BiOCl flower spheres. Compared to BiOCl and H-TiO2, H-TiO2/BiOCl heterojunctions remarkably exhibit the enhanced photocatalytic activity for degrading tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) and methyl orange (MO) dye under the visible and NIR light, respectively. Moreover, we discuss the effect of H-TiO2/BiOCl heterojunction on the physical and photoelectrochemical properties, as well as the possible produced intermediates and degradation mechanism of TC-HCl in detail.