Fabrication of Er3+/Yb3+ Co-Doped Bi5O7I Microsphere With Upconversion Luminescence and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Bisphenol A Degradation

• Main Authors: Baowei Cao, Siwen Gong, Siyaka Mj Zubairu, Lingna Liu, Yunhua Xu, Lei Guo, Rui Dang, Gangqiang Zhu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Chemistry
• Subjects: doping; semiconductor; microsphere; upconversion; heterojunction photocatalytic activity; NO removal
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fchem.2020.00773/full
• ISSN: 2296-2646

Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I uniform porous microsphere photocatalysts were synthesized by a two-step chemical method, which possesses excellent photocatalytic performance and upconversion luminescence property. The photocatalytic performance of the photocatalysts was studied by degradation of bisphenol A in aqueous solution under visible light and different monochromatic light irradiation. The photocatalytic performance of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I sample is better than that of the pristine Bi5O7I and Er3+-doped Bi5O7I samples. Moreover, Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I possesses photocatalytic ability with a red light monochromatic LED lamp (3 W, λ = 630 nm) and an infrared monochromatic LED lamp (100 W, λ = 940 nm) irradiation whose wavelength is longer than the absorption-limiting wavelength of pristine Bi5O7I sample. This phenomenon further verified that the upconversion property of Er3+ and Yb3+ causes the improved photocatalytic efficiency of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I sample.