Facile synthesis of Z-scheme Fe-nPPy/BiOI nanocomposites for enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic activity

Development of heterogeneous catalysts that are active in the visible light region is important for realizing the dream of using sunlight for effecting chemical transformations to achieve sustainability. In this work, conducting polymer (CP) and bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) based Z-scheme nanocomposites were prepared at room temperature. The nanocomposite formation was confirmed by various analytical techniques. In comparison to pure BiOI and Fe-nPPy, the nanocomposite Fe-nPPy/BiOI-3 showed significantly enhanced activity for the photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet (CV) dye when exposed to visible light. Moreover, the photocatalyst was versatile for photocatalytic environmental remediation as it could also degrade pharmaceutical pollutant tetracycline (TC). The physical as well as optical properties of the prepared materials were thoroughly characterized. Proper alignment of band edge potential and better interfacial contact between Fe-nPPy and BiOI, reduces charge recombination in the nanocomposite and enable their better utilisation for the photocatalytic degradation reaction. Furthermore, the photogenerated electrons were found to be the primary reactive species responsible for the degradation process, as per radical trapping experiments.