The {001} facets-dominated photocatalyst of nanostructured rose-like BiOCl 1− x Br x solid solutions enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Abstract BiOCl 1− x Br x solid solutions with tunable structures and morphologies were successfully synthesized both in water and ethylene glycol (EG), via a facile solvothermal process. The microstructure and properties of composites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Brunauer Emmet Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV–vis spectrophotometer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and so on. The effect on the innate character and light reaction mechanism on the photocatalytic activity of BiOCl 1− x Br x were investigated in detail by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). SEM revealed that rose-like BiOCl 1− x Br x solid solutions can be obtained in water and the sphere-like were synthesized in EG solvents. And the rose-like nanostructures showed superior photocatalytic properties. Furthermore, the rose-like BiOCl 0.5 Br 0.5 with high exposed {101} facets showed the highest photocatalytic activity with the RhB completely degraded within 12 min under visible light irradiation. In addition, a reasonable mechanism of the enhanced photocatalytic performance was also discussed according to the experimental results.