Fabrication and high photoelectrocatalytic activity of scaly BiOBr nanosheet arrays

Yulin Ling; Youzhi Dai; Jianhong Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.05.111

Fabrication and high photoelectrocatalytic activity of scaly BiOBr nanosheet arrays

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 Oct 15:578:326-337. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.05.111. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Authors

Yulin Ling¹, Youzhi Dai², Jianhong Zhou³

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, PR China; College of Resources and Environment, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, PR China.
² College of Environment and Resources, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, PR China. Electronic address: daiyzh@xtu.edu.cn.
³ School of Biological and Agricultural Science and Technology, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, PR China.

PMID: 32531562
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.05.111

Abstract

Bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr) nanosheet arrays (NSAs) were successfully prepared on the surface of indium tin oxide glass (hydrophilic pretreated) by solvothermal method using [C₁₆mim]Br ionic liquid as bromine source and template. The effects of different reaction temperatures on array synthesis were investigated. BiOBr NSA-160 (NSAs prepared at 160 °C for 8 h) had the best photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activity. The removal rate of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride by BiOBr NSA-160 was 91.4% by applying a bias voltage of 0.9 V and irradiating under visible light for 180 min. Results of the analyses of the morphology, photoelectric properties, energy band structure, and degradation active species show that BiOBr NSA-160 is a p-type photocatalyst with a thickness of approximately 500 nm, a light response range of less than 440 nm, and photocurrent density of 69 μA/cm² at the optimal bias voltage is 0.9 V. The high PEC activity of BiOBr NSA-160 was deduced from two aspects: one is that the bias potential effectively improves the separation efficiency of photogenerated carrier, and the other is that the structure of the nanoarray increases light absorption and active sites. BiOBr NSAs are promising PEC material for application in pollutant removal.

Keywords: BiOBr; Bias voltage; Nanosheet arrays; Photocatalysis; Photoelectrocatalysis; Solvothermal.