Facile fabrication of a BiOBr–Cu2+/TiO2 suspension for efficient equipment decontamination

Abstract

There is a growing awareness of practices focused on the in-depth treatment and decontamination processes of firefighters’ personal protective equipment to decrease health risks. Hence, TiO₂-nanoparticle-modified Cu-doped BiOBr microflowers (BiOBr–Cu²⁺/TiO₂) have been devised and used as effective constituents to construct a type of decontamination agent that can efficiently and deeply eliminate hazardous chemicals. The 3D microflowers can be admirable carriers for the prevention of aggregation and outstanding adsorption, and the construction of a heterojunction based on the copper-doping strategy and sequential harvesting of light strategy provides enhanced light absorbance and efficient charge separation. The proposed materials have a nanoparticle-interspersed microflower morphology, enhanced light-harvesting ability, and excellent transfer of photogenerated carriers, leading to more effective adsorption and solar-light-driven photocatalytic activity than other catalysts. Moreover, the BiOBr–Cu²⁺/TiO₂ composites mixed with different solvents can be used as decontamination agents for the in-depth treatment of hazardous chemicals under different situations. It is believed that employing heterojunctions as the constituents of decontamination agents has promise to become an effective and feasible method for deep decontamination processes in firefighting work.