Fabrication of Fe/BiOCl/RGO with enhanced photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin under visible light irradiation

The Fe-doped BiOCl/reduced graphene oxide (Fe/BiOCl/RGO) photocatalyst was synthesized for ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation under visible light irradiation via a facile and controllable solvothermal approach. Fe-doping and RGO incorporated greatly inhibit the agglomeration of BiOCl and significantly enhance the photodegradation activity by facilitating the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which could almost completely degrade CIP solution in 180 min. Moreover, Fe/BiOCl/RGO reaches the highest rate constant of 0.021 min−1, which is 2.1 and 4.4 times larger than those of Fe/BiOCl and BiOCl, respectively. Besides, Fe/BiOCl/RGO exhibits excellent stability, which can remain ∼90% after five cycling degradation. Photogenerated ·OH and h+ for CIP degradation are confirmed as the main active species through free radical capture experiments. The improved photocatalytic activity of Fe/BiOCl/RGO is attributed to the strong synergistic effect of Fe-doping and RGO addition, which efficiently extends the visible light absorption extent, along with accelerating the separation and conversion of photogenerated electrons and holes, thus promoting the utilization of photocatalysts under visible light irradiation.