Hollow microspheres of BiOCl assembled with nanosheets: Spray drying synthesis and drastically enhanced photocatalytic activity

Hollow microspheres of BiOCl assembled with nanosheets were successfully synthesized using a facile spray drying method. The phase structure, morphology, composition, oxidation state, and optical property of samples were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, BET, XPS, EIS and UV-vis-DRS. The experimental results revealed that the decomposition efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) of BiOCl prepared by the spray drying method is four times as fast as that of BiOCl with solid spheres synthesized using the traditional solvothermal method. And the reaction in the presence of BiOCl-2 prepared by the spray drying method includes photodegradation and adsorption The better crystallinity and larger specific surface for the as-prepared BiOCl photocatalyst with hollow microspheres structure assembled with nanosheets are undoubtedly favorable for drastically enhancing its photocatalytic activity, which can largely enhance the efficient separation and transport of photo-generated electron-hole pairs. In addition, the degradation mechanism of BiOCl photoctalyst synthesized by spray drying method over RhB was analyzed and founded that the superoxide radical (O-center dot(2)-) and the hole (h(+)) played the pivotal role in RhB photocatalytic degradation instead of hydroxyl radical ((OH)-O-center dot).