Bi2WO6/Nb2CTx MXene hybrid nanosheets with enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for organic pollutants degradation

• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.144595
• Publication Date: 2019-11-05T16:53:40Z
• Authors: Ce Cui; Ronghui Guo; Hongyan Xiao; Erhui Ren; Qingshuang Song; Cheng Xiang; Xiaoxu Lai; Jianwu Lan; Shouxiang Jiang
• Keywords: Photodegradation; Rhodamine B; Methylene blue; Degradation; Visible spectrum; Hybrid material

Abstract The 2D/2D hybrid photocatalyst of ultrathin Bi2WO6/Nb2CTx hybrid nanosheets was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process. The photocatalytic performance of Bi2WO6/Nb2CTx hybrid nanosheets for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) were investigated. The results showed that the Nb2CTx nanosheets greatly improved the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and the photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6. Compared with Bi2WO6, Bi2WO6/Nb2CTx hybrid nanosheets photocatalysts exhibited excellent photodegradation efficiency for RhB (99.8%), MB (92.7%) and TC-HCl (83.1%), respectively. The photodegradation rate constants of Bi2WO6 coupled with 2 wt% Nb2CTx for RhB and MB were 0.072 min−1 and 0.0285 min−1, which were 2.8 times and 2 times as high as that of pristine Bi2WO6, respectively. In addition, the photodegradation rate constant of Bi2WO6 coupled with 2 wt% Nb2CTx for TC-HCl reaches 0.0171 min−1. This study provided an efficient photocatalyst with 2D/2D structures and demonstrated that 2D Nb2CTx is a promising co-catalyst to improve the photodegradation performance of photocatalysts.