BiOCl Nanorings with Co-Exposed (110)/(001) Facets for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes

A BiOCl nanoring with co-exposed (110)/(001) facets is presented, which is prepared by selectively etching (001) facets of BiOCl nanosheets based on a selective etching mechanism. The BiOCl nanorings display a high photocatalytic performance toward organic dyes including butyl rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO). The results show that 40 mg of BiOCl nanorings can degrade 40 mL of RhB (10 mg L-1) in 4 min. Besides, 40 mL of 30 mg L-1 RhB can be completely degraded within 14 min. The reaction rate constant of 1.659 min(-1) for BiOCl nanorings is seven times higher than that of the BiOCl nanosheets. In addition, 40 mg of BiOCl nanorings can degrade 97% of 40 mL (10 mg L-1) MO in 2 min. The good photocatalytic performance is ascribed to the formation of type-II junctions between (001) and (110) facets. It is expected that the specific nanoring structure presented here would find broad applications for developing many other emerging high-performance photocatalysts.

Automated summary

A BiOCl nanoring with co-exposed (110)/(001) facets was prepared using a selective etching mechanism. It demonstrated high photocatalytic performance towards organic dyes, degrading substances like butyl rhodamine B and methyl orange. The enhanced performance was attributed to the formation of type-II junctions between different crystal facets, leading to a sevenfold increase in reaction rate constant compared to BiOCl nanosheets.