Accelerating charge carrier dynamics via boron doping in Bi2YO4Cl nanosheets for efficient visible light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

The sluggish charge carrier dynamics during photocatalytic reactions represent a practical obstacle restricting the development and application of Bi2YO4Cl (BY) photocatalyst. To address this issue, herein, Boron (B)-doped BY nanosheets were synthesized for the first time via a facile one-step hydrothermal approach and employed for the degradation of organic pollutants. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental results confirm that B doping significantly enhances carrier kinetics, facilitating efficient charge separation and subsequent transfer. Meanwhile, B doping leads to a downshift of the valence band maximum (VBM) of BY, thereby enhancing the oxidizing capability of photogenerated holes. As a result, the B doped BY nanosheets exhibit excellent visible-light photocatalytic performance toward tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) degradation, with a rate constant of 0.019 min-1, which is 2.8 times higher than that of undoped BY. This work provides deeper insights into the intrinsic relationship among doping, charge carrier dynamics, and photocatalytic performance.