Homogeneous {001}-BiOBr/Bi Heterojunctions: Facile\nControllable Synthesis and Morphology-Dependent Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

The homogeneous BiOBr/Bi heterojunctions\nphotocatalyst was synthesized\nfrom {001} facet dominated BiOBr flakes via a PVP-assisted in situ\nreduction reaction at room temperature. The high {001} facet exposure\nof BiOBr could induce the homogeneous distribution of metallic Bi\non the surface of BiOBr. The introduction of PVP not only effectively\nprotected the uniform structure but also largely promoted the photocatalysis\nproperties. Compared to the bare BiOBr, an obviously enhanced photochemical\nperformance was achieved over the homogeneous BiOBr/Bi pertaining\nto methyl orange (MO) degradation and photocurrent generation. The\nhighly enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed not only\nto the surface plasmon resonance effect and efficient separation of\nelectron–hole pairs by the metallic Bi but also to its uniform\nand regular structure. The present work provided a new approach to\nthe development of attractive bismuth-based-photocatalysts/metallic\nBi heterostructures with controllable structures and photocatalytic\nperformance.