Synthesis of halide anion-doped bismuth terephthalate hybrids for organic pollutant removal

Halide anion-doped bismuth terephthalate hybrids were synthesized using a facile solvothermal method. Four series of hybrids doped with halide anions X- (F-, Cl-, Br- and I-) were produced by varying the molar ratios (n) of X- relative to Bi(NO3)(3) (n=0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1) in dimethylformamide solution. The results indicated that 0.25 equiv. of different halide anion-doped bismuth terephthalate hybrids, especially BiBDC-Cl(0.25) and BiBDC-Br(0.25), exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light and UV light irradiation. They also exhibited excellent adsorption performance for Rhodamine B which could be attributed to high surface areas and negative charge on the surface of the catalysts. Moreover, the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation is a photosensitization process and O-center dot(2)- is the most important active species. The halide anion-doped bismuth terephthalate hybrids are promising photocatalysts for removal of organic pollutants. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.