Environment-friendly 0D/2D Ag/CDots/BiOCl heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic tetracycline degradation and mechanism insight

Constructing 0D/2D heterojunctions, especially nanodots/nanosheets heterostructure, is one of the most efficient approach to solve the drawbacks existed in 0D or/and 2D materials, such as self-aggregation, instability, low light utilization efficiency and strong recombination of photo-generated charges. Herein, an unprecedent ternary 0D/2D heterojunction of Ag/CDots/BiOCl has been prepared via a simple one-step solvothermal process. The as-prepared nanocomposites exhibited superior visible light photocatalytic activity for tetracycline (TC) degradation with 68.9% removal in 50 min, much higher than pristine BiOCl (17.0%), Ag/BiOCl (51.8%) and CDots/BiOCl (43.8%). The characterization results showed that the presence of Ag and CDots fundamentally contributed to the visible light responses of BiOCl, and enhanced electron transfer and separation, resulting in the efficient electron density increment and photocatalytic performance improvement. The synergistic effect between Ag, CDots and BiOCl was expounded, and the photocatalytic reaction mechanism was proposed in detail. The toxicity assessment authenticated the good biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity of Ag/CDots/BiOCl. The results of this study indicate 0D/2D Ag/CDots/BiOCl heterojunction is a promising photocatalyst for the remediation of current water-pollution issues.