Facile construction of 2D Ni₂P/Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂ composite to reinforce photocatalytic degradation performance of antibiotics in water

Utilizing highly efficient and stable photocatalysts to remove residual organic pollutants in wastewater has been deemed to be a promising and green technique for environmental management. Herein, novel 2D Ni2P/Bi12O17Cl2 composites have been prepared by a facile deposition-precipitation method, and the structure, morphology, optical, photo-electrochemical and photoluminescence properties were characterized particularly. Oxytetracycline (OTC), phenol and methyl orange (MO) were selected as target pollutants to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the Ni2P/Bi12O17Cl2. Under visible light illumination (lambda > 420 nm), the Ni2P/Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst possesses outstanding photocatalytic properties for the degradation of OTC, phenol and MO than those of Bi12O17Cl2. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Ni2P/Bi12O17Cl2 is attributed to Ni2P acting as photogenerated electrons trappers to reinforce photoinduced charges separation. Furthermore, the Ni2P/Bi12O17Cl2 photocatalyst owns outstanding stability. This study might shed light on the enhanced photocatalytic capacities of bismuth oxyhalide by means of embellishing transition metal phosphides in environment remediation fields.