Enhanced photocatalytic performance of rhodamine B and enrofloxacin by Pt loaded Bi(4)V(2)O(11): boosted separation of charge carriers, additional superoxide radical production, and the photocatalytic mechanism

Photocatalytic performance is influenced by two contradictory factors, which are light absorption range and separation of charge carriers. Loading noble metals with nanosized interfacial contact is expected to improve the separation and transfer of photo-excited charge carriers while enlarging the light absorption range of the semiconductor photocatalyst. Therefore, it should be possible to improve the photocatalytic performance of pristine nontypical stoichiometric semiconductor photocatalysts by loading a specific noble metal. Herein, a series of novel Pt–Bi(4)V(2)O(11) photocatalysts have been successfully prepared via a surface reduction technique. The crystal structure, morphology, and photocatalytic performance, as well as photo-electron properties of the as-synthesized samples were fully characterized. Moreover, the series of Pt–Bi(4)V(2)O(11) samples were evaluated to remove typical organic pollutants, rhodamine B and enrofloxacin, from aqueous solutions. The photoluminescence, quenching experiments and the electron spin resonance technique were utilized to identify the effective radicals during the photocatalytic process and understand the photocatalytic mechanism. The photocatalytic performance of Pt–Bi(4)V(2)O(11) was tremendously enhanced compared with pristine Bi(4)V(2)O(11), and there was additional ˙O(2−) produced during the photocatalytic process. This study deeply investigated the relation between the separation of charge carriers and the light harvesting, and revealed a promising strategy for fabricating efficient photocatalysts for both dyes and antibiotics.