One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of MXene Ti3C2/TiO2/BiOCl ternary heterojunctions with improved separation of photoactivated carries and photocatalytic behavior toward elimination of contaminants

Abstract Facilitating the separation rate of photoactivated carries by building of heterojunctions is a valid way to tune the photocatalytic performance. In this contribution, Ti3C2/TiO2/BiOCl ternary heterojunction photocatalysts were prepared by a hydrothermal strategy. The fabricated heterostructures were examined using diverse analysis techniques. Surface photovoltage spectrum (SPS), photocurrent response (PR) and impedance spectroscopy (IS) results reveal that the separation behavior of photoactivated carries of Ti3C2/TiO2/BiOCl ternary heterojunctions was significantly improved in contrast with the reference BiOCl. Trapping and electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments indicate that construction of heterostructures among Ti3C2, TiO2 and BiOCl is propitious to the production of •O2- and •OH radicals. The photocatalytic activity can be profited from the improved separation efficiency of photoinduced carries and the elevated level of active species. The photocatalytic performance of the fabricated heterostructures was assessed by disinfection of rhodamine B (RhB) and tetracycline under simulated solar illumination. The investigation illustrate that the Ti3C2/TiO2/BiOCl ternary heterojunctions display boosted photocatalytic activities than the pristine BiOCl, the 4%Ti3C2/TiO2/BiOCl holds the best decontamination ability toward RhB. Moreover, the as-prepared Ti3C2/TiO2/BiOCl ternary heterojunctions possess excellent stability even after four cycles. In view of all the observations, separation and migration mechanism of the photoinduced carriers were proposed.