Facile synthesis of cobalt doped BiOCl ultrathin nanosheets as superior photocatalyst for degradation of carbamazepine under visible light

Herein, novel cobalt-doped bismuth oxychloride ultrathin nanosheets (BiOCl–Co-T) were facilely synthesized by tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) assisted hydrolysis route in water at ambient conditions. Characterizations were performed to investigate the structure, morphology, light absorption ability, electric property, BET surface area and pore structure of the as-prepared samples. The photocatalytic performance was investigated by degrading the persistent contaminant of carbamazepine (CBZ) under visible light irradiation. Results showed that the BiOCl–Co-T displayed enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity due to the expanded light absorption region and facilitated photogenerated carrier separation. Compared with the degradation efficiencies of 48.4 and 53.8% in BiOCl–Co and BiOCl-T, BiOCl–Co-T exhibited significant improved degradation efficiency of 86.4% within 180 ​min under visible light irradiation. Quenching experiments suggested that holes (h+), superoxide radicals (·O2-), and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) participated in CBZ degradation over BiOCl–Co-T. The obtained result provides a new insight to fabricate visible-light-driven photocatalyst with ultrathin nanosheets shaped structure.