Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 composite photocatalyst with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

• A series of Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 composites were first synthesized.
• The absorption edges of Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 composites were larger than 600 nm.
• 80.48% Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 exhibited the most efficient separation of charge carrier.
• The composites showed enhanced activity towards malachite green degradation.
• The photocatalytic mechanism of the Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 composite was first proposed.

A series of Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 composite photocatalysts were first synthesized via chemical etching method. Their crystalline phase, composition, light absorption ability and photoluminescence emission performance were characterized by XRD, EDX, UV–vis and PL methods, respectively. And malachite green was used as the model pollutant to investigate the visible light photocatalytic activities of the composite photocatalysts. It is found that 80.48% Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 showed the highest activity for its relatively stronger absorption ability for visible light and best separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs. Last, the photocatalytic mechanism of the Bi5O7I/Bi2O3 composite was put forward qualitatively.

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