Giant enhancement of bisphenol a degradation and mineralization enabled by eosin Y/Nb3O7(OH) nanostructures

Bisphenol A is an environmental hormone that shows a significant impact on human health. The removal of bisphenol A substances from the surrounding environment is of great significance for the humanity sustainable development. Current work focuses on synthesizing self-doped Nb 3 O 7 (OH) nanostructure and eosin Y/Nb 3 O 7 (OH) composites with high surface areas through a solvothermal process for bisphenol A degradation under visible-light illumination. The prepared Nb 3 O 7 (OH) sample demonstrated a noticeable photocatalytic performance toward bisphenol A degradation. Notably, the obtained eosin Y/Nb 3 O 7 (OH)-1.0 % composite not only exhibited efficient visible-light harvesting and high surface area but also showed significantly improved charge separation and bisphenol A degradation compared to pristine Nb 3 O 7 (OH) sample. The rate constant of the eosin Y/Nb 3 O 7 (OH)-1.0 % sample for bisphenol A degradation was approximately 0.04252 min −1 , which was 7.85 times that of pristine Nb 3 O 7 (OH) sample. Furthermore, the eosin Y/Nb 3 O 7 (OH)-1.0 % composite achieved approximately 59.76 % mineralization of bisphenol A within 20 min and 75.28 % mineralization within 40 min under visible-light illumination. Additionally, the effects of experimental parameters on bisphenol A degradation and the dye-sensitization mechanism were proposed. The current work suggests the obvious advantages of defective Nb 3 O 7 (OH) nanostructure in fabricating high-performance composite photocatalysts for eliminating emerging pollutants.