Herein, the synthesis of BiOCl nanoplatelets of various dimensions is demonstrated. These materials were prepared by anodic oxidation of Bi ingots in diluted HCl under dielectric breakdown conditions, triggered by a sufficiently high anodic field. Additionally, it is shown that the use of several other common diluted acids (HNO3, H2SO4, lactic acid) resulted in the formation of various different nanostructures. The addition of NH4F to the acidic electrolytes accelerated the growth rate resulting in bismuth-based nanostructures with comparably smaller dimensions and an enormous volume expansion observed during the growth. On the other hand, the addition of lactic acid to the acidic electrolytes decelerated the oxide growth rate. The resulting nanostructures were characterized using SEM, XRD and TEM. BiOCl nanoplatelets received by anodization in 1 M HCl were successfully employed for the photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue dye and showed a superior performance compared to commercially available BiOCl powder with a similar crystalline structure, confirming its potential as a visible light photocatalyst.
Keywords: anodization; bismuth; bismuth oxychloride; nanoplatelets; photocatalysis.