Photo-Fenton Degradation of AO7 and Photocatalytic Reduction of Cr(VI) over CQD-Decorated BiFeO(3) Nanoparticles Under Visible and NIR Light Irradiation

In this work, the carbon quantum dot (CQD)–decorated BiFeO(3) nanoparticle photocatalysts were prepared by a hydrothermal method. The TEM observation and XPS characterization indicate that the CQDs are well anchored on the surface of BiFeO(3) nanoparticles. Acid orange 7 (AO7) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) were chosen as the model pollutants to investigate the photocatalytic/photo-Fenton degradation and photocatalytic reduction performances of the as-prepared CQD/BiFeO(3) composites under visible and near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. Compared with bare BiFeO(3) nanoparticles, the CQD/BiFeO(3) composites exhibit significantly improved photocatalytic and photo-Fenton catalytic activities. Moreover, the composites possess good catalytic stability. The efficient photogenerated charges separation in the composites was demonstrated by the photocurrent response and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The main active species involved in the catalytic degradation reaction were clarified by radicals trapping and detection experiments. The underlying photocatalytic and photo-Fenton mechanisms are systematically investigated and discussed.