Synthesis of 3D BiOBr microspheres for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction

In this work, 3D BiOBr microspheres were successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method with different bromine source. The as-fabricated samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Compared their photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction, BiOBr-IL showed the highest activity and selectivity. It suggested that the [Bmim]Br ionic liquids assisted synthesis method was an successful way to improve the photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction of BiOBr. (C) 2016 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.