Study on the effective removal of NO by light-driven N-BiOCl

•The N doped BiOCl increases its NO removal efficiency under light irradiation.•N doping generates intermediate energy levels in the forbidden gap of N-BiOCl.•N-BiOCl exhibited favorable stability and recyclability after four cycles.•O2 is a very important factor in the NO photodegradation under light irradiation.••O2− is the most active in the NO photodegradation under light irradiation.