BiOCl : preparation and applications in photocatalytic degradation of phenol

The study of heterogeneous photocatalysis is an important issue due to its potential applications in environmental pollution purification and energy conversion. The photocatlytic activity is related to the crystallinity, size and morphology properties. Moreover, these parameters depend on the preparation method. Recently, bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl), as an important V–VI–VII ternary compound, is known to have a layer structure characterized by [Bi2O2] slabs interleaved with double slabs of Cl atoms in the tetragonal matlockite structure, which can promote the efficient separation of photoinduced electron–hole pairs. Here, we describe a very simple method for BiOCl preparation based on chemical precipitation in aqueous solution (p-BOC). L-arginine was used as structure-directing agent, Bi(NO3)3 and HCl were used as precursor compounds. This reaction mixture was treated by different processes: UV irradiation (UV-BOC), hydrothermal method (H-BOC) and both in two different pH (UV-BOC-H-pH). The structural properties of the obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and BET surface area. Degradation of solution of phenol and rhodamine-B was used as probe to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the as-synthesized BiOCl samples.