Ternary structural assembly of BiOCl/TiO2/clinoptilolite composite: Study of coupled mechanism and photocatalytic performance.

• Novel BiOCl/TiO 2 /clinoptilolite composite photocatalyst was synthesized. • BiOCl/TiO 2 /clinoptilolite displayed excellent visible photocatalytic activity. • Carrier effect and heterojunction charged for photocatalytic enhancement. • This study provides a novel idea for ternary heterojunction construction. Novel BiOCl/TiO 2 /clinoptilolite composite was prepared via a homogeneous precipitation and calcination-crystallization process in this study. Through structural design and spatial assembly, the ternary composite based on clinoptilolite layer as well as the TiO 2 nano particles and BiOCl nano sheets was successfully synthesized. The prepared composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N 2 isothermal adsorption-desorption test and electrochemical measurement, respectively. Compared with bare photocatalysts (i.e. TiO 2 and BiOCl), the composite exhibited enhanced photoactivity under visible light irradiation towards rhodamine B (RhB). Based on the pseudo-first-order kinetic constants, the photocatalytic performance of BiOCl/TiO 2 /clinoptilolite composite is around 48 and 11 times higher than that of pure TiO 2 and BiOCl, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic properties of the composite should be attributed to the improved adsorption ability and the formation of the n -p heterojunction between BiOCl and TiO 2 , which is beneficial to establish the rapid adsorption-desorption system and promote the efficient separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The excellent visible-light-driven performance makes the BiOCl/TiO 2 /clinoptilolite composite possible to be utilized in the field of industrial wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]