Solvothermal Synthesis of Bi2O2CO3 Nanoplates for Efficient Photodegradation of RhB and Phenol under Simulated Solar Light Irradiation

Monodispersed Bi2O2CO3 nanoplates with an average width of 320 nm and thicknesses of 50-90 nm were successfully synthesized by a simple solvothermal method in a mixture solution of polyethylene glycol and H2O. The obtained nanoplates were characterized by means of XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TEM. The effect of surfactant sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate on the morphology of Bi2O2CO3 product was investigated. Under simulated solar light irradiation, Bi2O2CO3 nanoplates exhibited superior photocatalytic activities towards the degradation of RhB as well as high chemical stability upon cycling photocatalytic test. The nanoplates also showed promising photodegradation ability for eliminating refractory pollutant of phenol. The excellent photocatalytic performance of Bi2O2CO3 nanoplates as compared with P25-TiO2 endows them as promising high efficiency photocatalysts.