Enhanced photocatalytic activity of a double conductive C/Fe3O4/Bi2O3 composite photocatalyst based on biomass

In order to realize the rational utilization of waste, C/Fe 3 O 4 was obtained by using biomass as the carbon source and prepared via one-step method, afterwards, a double conductive C/Fe 3 O 4 /Bi 2 O 3 composite photocatalyst was further synthesized via solvothermal method. Due to the good double conductivity, the electrons in Bi 2 O 3 could be transported to C/Fe 3 O 4 , which greatly inhibited the recombination of electron-hole pairs, it is worth noting that the double conductivity effectively blocked the reverse transfer of electrons to Bi 2 O 3 . Consequently, the photodegradation rate of C/Fe 3 O 4 /Bi 2 O 3 composite photocatalyst reached 91%, which was much higher than that of pure Bi 2 O 3 . In addition, the mechanism exploration experiment showed that h + was the main activity specie, meanwhile, the photocatalytic electron transfer mechanism was also investigated.