Design of 2D La-doped Bi2WO6 nanosheets with enhanced activity for simultaneously photocatalytic oxidation of TC and reduction of Cr(VI)

Considering the potential effects of physical and chemical properties and morphology on photocatalytic performance, La doped Bi 2 WO 6 nanosheets (La/Bi 2 WO 6 -NS) were synthesized by immersion method using Na 2 WO 4 ·2 H 2 O, Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ·5 H 2 O and La(NO 3 ) 3 as raw materials. The synthesized La/Bi 2 WO 6 -NS was characterized by SEM, TEM, XPS, XRD, UV–vis, PL, I-t and EIS. The enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of La/Bi 2 WO 6 -NS in the degradation of tetracycline (TC) and reduction of chromium (VI) can be attributed to the oxygen vacancy level generated by La doping, which played a crucial role in improving the performance of Bi 2 WO 6 -NS. Moreover, the unique 2D nanosheets feature afforded abundant active sites and endowed an enhanced the visible light response, further improved photocatalytic performance. Additionally, 4 % La/Bi 2 WO 6 -NS exhibited extraordinary the simultaneously photocatalytic degradation of Cr(VI)/TC efficiency with 92.0 % and 90.8 %, which are much higher than that of single Cr(VI) and TC. Combining of the experimental confirmations and the deep DFT calculations, the synergistic photocatalytic mechanism of the synthesized material was investigated systematically.