A new bi-based oxychloride Bi4Ti0.5W0.5O8Cl as a photocatalyst

Synthesis of new mixed anion compounds under visible light has been considered as an elegant strategy of photocatalyst development for efficient solar light harvesting applications. Through combined experimental and theoretical studies, we show that a new single layer Sillen-Aurivillius perovskite Bi4Ti0.5W0.5O8Cl is a good photocatalyst under visible light. This compound prepared by a solid-state reaction method has an energy gap of 2.36 eV and the visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities for degrading Rhodamine B are much better than Bi4NbO8Cl. We conclude from density functional theory calculations that its promising water-splitting application is due to its direct band gap and more stronger hybridization between Bi-6s and O-2p orbitals than Bi4NbO8Cl.