Enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of bismuth oxide via the decoration of titanium carbide quantum dots.

In TiC quantum dots (TiC QDs)/BiO photocatalysts system, TiC QDs can act as a co-catalyst to greatly boost the photocatalytic performance of BiO. TiC QDs with excellent light adsorption ability can improve the light response of the system, and the fascinating electronic property can function as a channel for electron transfer. Moreover, TiC QDs possess larger specific area and more active edge atoms thanks to the size effect. The best TiC QDs/BiO composite with the loading amounts of 75 mL of TiC QDs solution showed much higher photocatalytic performance (nearly 5.85 times) for tetracycline (TC) degradation than that of pristine BiO under visible light irradiation. These different photocatalytic performances shed light on the key role of TiC QDs in stimulating the photocatalytic activity of BiO. Moreover, TiC QDs/BiO composites exhibited excellent stability in recycling experiments and actual water sample treatment.