Facile synthesis of BiOF/Bi2O3/reduced graphene oxide photocatalyst with highly efficient and stable natural sunlight photocatalytic performance

A facile and efficient route for the controllable synthesis of BiOF/Bi2O3 nanostructures by hydrolysis method was reported, where the as-prepared BiOF/Bi2O3 was subsequently incorporated with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets to form BiOF/Bi2O3/RGO composites. The obtained BiOF/Bi2O3 and BiOF/Bi2O3/RGO composites were well characterized with the aid of various techniques to probe their crystallographic, morphological, chemical and optical properties. Photocatalytic capacities of the pure BiOF/Bi2O3 and BiOF/Bi2O3/RGO composites have been investigated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB)-contained wastewater under natural sunlight irradiation. A twofold augmentation of degradation efficiency was in turn observed for BiOF/Bi2O3/RGO composites compared with that of pure BiOF/Bi2O3 under the natural sunlight irradiation. The optimum conditions, the effects of the active species and stabilities in photocatalytic performances of the BiOF/Bi2O3/RGO composites have also been probed. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.