Unraveling charge transfer mechanism in Nb3O7(OH)-supported AgIO3/AgCl heterojunctions toward enhanced bisphenol A degradation

As a well-known endocrine disruptor, bisphenol A can be detected in natural waters, and the exploration of high-performance photocatalytic systems for bisphenol A removal is of significance for the sustainable development. In this work, self-doped Nb 3 O 7 (OH) architecture with abundant oxygen vacancies were synthesized using a controllable solvothermal method, while the Nb 3 O 7 (OH)-supported AgIO 3 /AgCl heterojunctions were fabricated by leveraging the residual Cl − ions over the surface Nb 3 O 7 (OH) architecture for the degradation of organic pollutants. Additionally, the proportion of AgIO 3 to AgCl over the Nb 3 O 7 (OH) architecture was adjusted by controlling the dosage of NaIO 3 , leading to the successful fabrication of the AgIO 3 /AgCl/Nb 3 O 7 (OH) composites. The AgIO 3 /AgCl/Nb 3 O 7 (OH)-25 % composite demonstrated the highest photocatalytic performance for bisphenol A degradation, achieving a rate constant of 0.02445 min −1 , which was 5.57 times that that of AgCl, 5.61 times that of Nb 3 O 7 (OH) and 163 times that of AgIO 3 , respectively. The AgIO 3 /AgCl/Nb 3 O 7 (OH)-25 % composite achieved a total organic carbon removal efficiency of 68.16 % for bisphenol A mineralization within 100 min under visible-light irradiation, which underscored the potential of AgIO 3 /AgCl/Nb 3 O 7 (OH) composites as effective photocatalysts for the efficient mineralization of organic pollutants. Finally, a reasonable charge transfer mechanism of the AgIO 3 /AgCl/Nb 3 O 7 (OH) composites for bisphenol A degradation were proposed.