One-Step Synthesis of Hierarchical Flower-like SnO<sub>2</sub>/BiOCOOH Microspheres with Enhanced Light Response for the Removal of Pollutants
Haijin Liu, Min Chen, Hui Zhang, Bingjie Wang, Jianbiao Peng, Guoguang Liu
Abstract
The low separation rate of electron–hole pairs in single-component photocatalysts severely limits their applications for wastewater treatment. For this study, SnO2/BiOCOOH photocatalysts in flower-like microspheres were controllably synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method and were characterized by various advanced techniques. These SnO2/BiOCOOH nanocomposites demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activities for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), titan yellow, and levofloxacin hydrochloride (LVF). Specifically, 98.5% of RhB, 80% of titan yellow, and 85% of LVF were degraded under 5 W LED (λ = 365 nm) light irradiation within 30, 40, and 60 min, respectively. Radical trapping experiments and electron spin resonance results indicated that h+ was the dominant active radical, whereas ·O2– and ·OH played an auxiliary role in the photocatalytic system. Subsequently, a potential photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results.