Surfactant-Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis and High Visible-Light-Induced Photocatalytic Activity of BiOBr Nanocomposite Photocatalyst

Abstract

BiOCl/BiOBr composite microspheres were synthesized through a one-pot mixed surfactant-assisted solvothermal process. The morphology, crystal structure, surface area and photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared BiOCl/BiOBr composite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic ability of the as-prepared photocatalysts was evaluated using rhodamine B (RhB) as a target pollutant. The BiOCl/BiOBr composite exhibited much higher photocurrent intensity than pure BiOBr, BiOCl and other different components, which perfectly coincided with the enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under visible light ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]nm). Moreover, this novel and facile strategy to fabricate bismuth halide-based composite with high efficiency were widely used in other bismuth-based composite photocatalyst for removing organic contaminants in wastewater.