title: Double regulation of bismuth and halogen source for the preparation of bismuth oxybromide nanosquares with enhanced photocatalytic activity.
abstract: In this paper, bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr) nanosquares photocatalysts were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method with the double regulation of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and ammonium bismuth citrate (BCA). To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to describe the BiOBr material with simultaneous bismuth and halogen bidirectional source regulation. The structures, components, morphologies, optical properties and photocatalytic properties of the as-prepared samples were specifically explored. The photocatalytic ability was assessed using the degradation of rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. The BiOBr-IL+BCA exhibited improved photocatalytic activity compared with the BiOBr materials without double regulation. The primary active species were determined to be holes (h+) and superoxide radicals (O2-) using electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis and free radical trapping experiments. This enhanced activity was attributed to its larger specific surface, the superior electron transfer ability, and the increased negative conduction band position, which favors the photogenerated electrons to trap the molecular oxygen to produce O2-. The production of more O2-can benefit the removal of pollutants.
authors.affiliation: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
authors.forename: Yiling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Di
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
authors.forename: Mengxia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
authors.forename: Kaizhi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: liweibinlily@sina.com.
authors.forename: Weibin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: xjx@ujs.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiexiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: lhm@ujs.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Huaming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: BiOBr; Double regulation; Nanosquares; Photocatalytic