Comparative study of P25/BiOCl mixtures as photocatalysts in Acid Orange 7 degradation

Abstract

Objectives. Among strategies used to improve the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2), coupled semiconductor has been widely studied. Bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) semiconductor has been highlighted, specially, with hierarchical structures (3D), because it has been shown to have higher performance in the photodegradation of organic dyes in wastewater. Therefore, in this work the degradation efficiency of acid orange 7 (AO7) was studied using TiO2 (P25 Degussa), synthesized BiOCl with hierarchical structure, and mixtures of them as photocatalysts. Methodology. BiOCl was synthesized by the solvothermal method. The BiOCl was characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, the pore distribution and the surface area were determined. Photocatalytic experiments were carried out with a photocatalyst dose of 1 g‧L-1, initial dye concentration of 50 mg‧L-1, and UV light illumination. Contribution. The interaction of P25 Degussa with BiOCl microspheres (75/25, respectively) improved the photocatalytic degradation achieving a 50% degradation efficiency.