Nanoarchitectonics of chlorophyll and Mg co-modified hierarchical BiOCl microsphere as an efficient photocatalyst for CO2 reduction and ciprofloxacin degradation

It is of great significance to develop an efficient photocatalyst through simple methods for solar energy conversion and environmental pollution treatment. In this research, chlorophyll (Chl) and Mg co-modified hierarchical BiOCl microsphere photocatalyst with high performance was synthesized using a simple low temperature wet-chemical method. The synthesized photocatalyst with the optimal content of Chl and Mg showed superior photocatalytic performance for CO₂ reduction, where the maximum yield of methanol was 100.2 µmol/(h·g_cat), which was about three times superior than that of pure BiOCl. Besides, the Chl-Mg/BiOCl also showed high performance (93.7%) for degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP, a kind of antibiotic). Various characterization techniques were applied to determine the structure and evaluate the origin of the improved performance of Chl-Mg/BiOCl. Meanwhile, a possible mechanism for the excellent photocatalytic performance of Chl-Mg/BiOCl was proposed. Notably, Chl on the surface of BiOCl can lead to the formation of singlet state of Chl-Mg* after absorbing light and act as an electron donor which can enhance the stability and activity of the photocatalyst. What’s more, Mg not only acts as an electron capture site to inhibit the photogenerated carrier recombination, but also forms a complex with Chl to improve the stability of catalyst. This study would represent a promising candidate organic–inorganic hybrid photocatalyst for solar energy conversion and antibiotic pollution treatment.