Bi2O2CO3-based composite hydrogel for effective adsorption-visible photocatalytic removal of water-soluble organic pollutants

The development of novel photocatalysts for the removal of pollutants in wastewater under visible light has garnered considerable attention. In this study, a strategy was adopted to incorporate Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 into acrylic acid-acrylamide copolymerized hydrogels to significantly enhance the visible photocatalytic performance of the composites (P(AA- co -AAm)-BOC). The as-prepared photocatalyst exhibits an 85.5 % removal rate of a 30 mg/L methyl blue solution after 80 min of visible light irradiation. After undergoing four cycle tests, the photocatalytic performance remains stable, with the methyl blue removal rate maintained above 80 %. Impressively, the first-order kinetic constant of the hydrogel is 7 times higher than that of pure Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 . Furthermore, experimental and various characterization results have demonstrated that the hydrogel not only enhances the adsorption performance but also narrows the bandgap, significantly inhibiting the complexation of photogenerated carriers and thereby effectively improving the photocatalytic performance of the composites. This work offers new perspectives for constructing efficient hydrogel composites to enhance photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation.