Big-leaf hydrangea-like Bi₂S₃-BiOBr sensitized TiO₂ nanotube arrays with enhanced photoelectrocatalytic performance

TiO₂ nanoparticles as solar cells and photocatalysts caused extensive attention in solar energy utilization and environment remediation due to the high photoelectrochemical performance. We demonstrated a novel approach to fabricate big-leaf hydrangea-like Bi₂S₃-BiOBr self-assembled by superthin nanosheets on TiO₂ nanotube arrays (TiO₂ NTs/B₂S₃-BiOBr). Results indicated that the Bi₂S₃-BiOBr co-sensitization showed higher photoelectric conversion efficiency than the single Bi₂S₃ or BiOBr sensitization. More remarkably, TiO₂ NTs/B₂S₃-BiOBr showed excellent photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) removal of MB, MO, RhB and Cr(VI). The remarkable PEC performance could be attributed to the strong visible light absorption and effective electron transportation at the interface of TiO₂/B₂S₃-BiOBr. The high photoelectrochemical performances indicate that the TiO₂ NTs/B₂S₃-BiOBr could work as potential photoelectric materials for large-scale applications in the photoelectrochemical energy conversion and pollutant removal.