Efficient molecular oxygen utilization of micelle-based BiOCl for enhanced in situ H 2 O 2 production induced photocatalytic removal of antibiotics

• Published in: Environmental science. Nano 2023-01, Vol.10 (1), p.145-157
• Main Authors: Bai, Xiaojuan, Jia, Tianqi, Li, Haiyan, Guo, Linlong, Jian, Meipeng, Gong, Yongwei, Li, Junqi, Wei, Zhen, Hao, Derek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2051-8153; 2051-8161
• DOI: 10.1039/D2EN00933A

Photocatalytic self-Fenton technology is regarded as a promising strategy for the removal of pollutants in wastewater, and the in situ H 2 O 2 production rate is one of the main factors affecting contaminant degradation performance. However, insufficient utilization of molecular oxygen results in poor activity in photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production. Herein, we propose a single-layer BiOCl nanoflower induced by biosurfactant with surface micelles to increase the oxygen adsorption and reduction rate. The DFT results demonstrated that hydrophobic groups (–CH 2 –) on the surface of micelles increased the O 2 adsorption sites and then expanded the O 2 adsorption capacity of BiOCl samples, which was also confirmed by the enhancement of the O 1s peak intensity in the XPS spectra. The charge concentrated on the micelle surface can accelerate the reduction of molecular oxygen to reactive oxygen species, thus enhancing H 2 O 2 production to reach 108.6 μM within 60 min in pure water. Simultaneously, single-layer BiOCl increased the utilization rate of H 2 O 2 by decreasing the decomposition of H 2 O 2 itself, resulting in a 16.8-fold increase in sulfamethoxazole degradation efficiency. These results can inspire further developments in the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics based on in situ H 2 O 2 production.