Construction of flower-like Ag/AgBr/BiOBr heterostructures with boosted photocatalytic activity

Construction of heterostructures is a valid channel to tune the activity of the photocatalyst. In this work, Ag/AgBr/BiOBr heterostructures were in-situ built by a precipitation method. The constructed heterojunctions were carefully characterized by some analytic methods. The characterization results show that construction of heterojunctions can promote the separation of photoactivated carriers. Rhodamine B (RhB) was used to evaluate photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight. When the molar ratio of AgBr/BiOBr is 2%, the heterostructures prepared possess the highest photocatalytic activities. Photocatalytic activity of the 2% sample is 2-fold of that of BiOBr. Moreover, the sample has outstanding stability. In view of the experimental results, a mechanism for separation and transfer of photoexcited carriers was elaborated.

Automated summary

In this work, Ag/AgBr/BiOBr heterostructures were in-situ built by precipitation method, which can promote the separation of photoactivated carriers and enhance photocatalytic activity. The heterostructures prepared with a molar ratio of 2% AgBr/BiOBr showed the highest photocatalytic activity, being 2-fold of that of BiOBr, and exhibited outstanding stability. The mechanism for separation and transfer of photoexcited carriers was elucidated based on experimental results.