Preparation and photocatalytic activity of BiOBr/TiO₂ heterojunction nanocomposites

Abstract

An efficient visible-light-responsive BiOBr/TiO₂ heterojunction nanocomposite was fabricated successfully using in-situ depositing technique at room temperature by introducing BiOBr onto the surface of TiO₂ nanobelts pre-prepared by hydrothermal reaction and etched with H₂SO₄. The obtained particles were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV-Vis DRS and PL techniques. BiOBr/TiO₂ heterojunction nanocomposites with different mass ratios of m(BiOBr)/m(TiO₂) were discussed in order to get the best photocatalytic activity, and BiOBr/TiO₂-1.0 was proved to be the optimal mass ratio. BiOBr/TiO₂-1.0 exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of RhB compared with TiO₂ nanobelts, pure BiOBr and the mechanical mixture of TiO₂ nanobelts and BiOBr. At last, a possible mechanism of photocatalytic enhancement was proposed.

Keywords

photocatalysis / BiOBr / TiO₂ nanobelt / heterojunction / nanocomposite / visible light

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