Fe, Cu co-doped BiOBr with improved photocatalytic ability of pollutants degradation

Highlights: • The visible light corresponding BiOBr nanosheets were prepared by one-step water bath heating method. • The combination of diatomic doping and nanosheet construction can promote the photocatalytic performance of BiOBr. • The BiOBr nanosheets can rapidly degrade Tetracycline hydrochloride and high concentration RhB. -- Abstract: Designing efficient photocatalysts is essential for improving photocatalytic performance. Separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers is one of the key factors affecting photocatalytic performance. Combining the construction of two-dimensional materials with elemental doping can further improve the separation of photogenerated carriers. As expected, the performance of the samples produced by Fe and Cu co-doping was superior to that of pure BiOBr and mono-doped samples, with significant improvements in the photocatalytic degradation of both rhodamine B and tetracycline. The dopant of excess metal element atoms can form impurity energy levels in the forbidden band that effectively facilitate the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. Meanwhile, the thin-layer two-dimensional structure can effectively shorten the bulk charge carrier transmission distance and improve the transmission efficiency. This study not only provides a simple, green and low-cost method for combining iron and copper into composites materials at same time but also confirmed that the photocatalytic performance of BiOBr was strongly influenced by different Fe and Cu contents.