Highly efficient sunlight-powered photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B using Cu۲Cr-LDH/TiO۲ and Cu۲Cr-LDH/BiOCl semiconductor nanocomposites

This study explores the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under sunlight irradiation using Cu۲Cr-LDH/BiOCl and Cu۲Cr-LDH/TiO۲ nanocomposites. The structural, optical, and morphological properties of the materials were thoroughly examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The primary objective was to assess the photocatalytic efficiency of these nanocomposites in degrading RhB dye under sunlight. The Cu۲Cr-LDH/BiOCl nanocomposite exhibited superior photocatalytic performance, achieving ۹۰.۲۹ % RhB degradation, significantly outperforming Cu۲Cr-LDH/TiO۲ (۵۶.۴۵%) and pure Cu۲Cr-LDH (۳۱.۳۶%). This enhanced efficiency is attributed to the formation of a heterojunction between Cu۲Cr-LDH and BiOCl, which facilitates effective separation and transfer of charge carriers. The improved photocatalytic activity is primarily attributed to the well-dispersed BiOCl phase on the Cu₂Cr-LDH surface, demonstrating that interfacial architecture plays a more critical role than simply increasing the Bi or Ti content. Hydroxyl radicals and holes were determined to be the primary active species responsible for the degradation process. Additionally, both nanocomposites demonstrated remarkable stability and reusability, retaining high catalytic efficiency over four consecutive cycles. A detailed photocatalytic mechanism was proposed to explain the enhanced activity of the nanocomposites, highlighting the synergistic effects of the heterojunction structure and efficient charge carrier dynamics.

کلیدواژه ها:

photocatalysis ، Cu۲Cr-LDH ، RhB Degradation ، Heterojunction Formation ، Sunlight-Driven Catalysis