BiOCl/WS2 hybrid nanosheet (2D/2D) heterojunctions for visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of organic/inorganic water pollutants

Abstract

This report presents the superior visible-light-driven photocatalytic response of novel 2D/2D BiOCl/WS₂ (BW_X) hybrid nanosheet heterojunctions prepared by a simple solution based sonochemical technique. These BW_X hybrid nanosheets are composed of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide material WS₂ and BiOCl nanosheets. The comparative study of photocatalytic activity of BiOCl and BiOCl/WS₂ hybrid nanosheets is carried out via photodegradation of Malachite Green (MG) and photoreduction of heavy metal ion Cr(VI) under visible light irradiation. The quantum efficiency of the samples is estimated in terms of the incident photon to electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) measurements. Nearly 98.4% of the MG degradation was achieved over BiOCl/WS₂ (2%) photocatalyst in 45 min of irradiation. BiOCl/WS₂ (2%) hybrid nanosheet catalyst showed the highest external quantum efficiency (EQE) in both the UV and visible regimes. This accomplishment demonstrated the promise of commercial application of the 2D/2D BiOCl/WS₂ (2%) hybrid nanosheet photocatalyst.