Preparation of recyclable BiOI/luffa fiber composite and its highly efficient visible light photocatalytic properties

Abstract Water pollution has posed a serious threat to the environment and human health. There is an urgent need to develop highly efficient and application-convenient photocatalytic materials. To overcome this critical problem, the novel recyclable BiOI/luffa fiber photocatalyst was prepared by hydrothermal and deposition method, respectively. Several means, namely Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray power diffraction, Energy Dispersive Spectrometer, Specific Surface Area Analyzer and Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy were applied to characterize the composite. The optimal pretreatment condition of (CH3)2CHOH and NaOH for luffa fiber was discussed. Further, the photocatalytic performance of BiOI/luffa was tested using methyl orange as target pollutant. The results showed that the composite prepared by deposition method had more uniform morphology and better properties. When the molar ratio of Bi:I in the reactants was adjusted to 2:5, the degradation rate of methyl orange by BiOI/luffa reached 98.86% for 70min under visible light. Importantly, the recycling test showed that the degradation rate still remained at 83.67% after three cycle usage. The obtained BiOI microspheres exhibited excellent visible light photocatalytic activity, and the luffa with high specific surface area could increase the adsorption of pollutants and facilitate the separation of BiOI.