Role of the Polar Electric Field in Bismuth Oxyhalides for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

The built-in electric field generated by polar materials is one of the most effective strategies to promote the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs in the field of photocatalysis. However, because of the complexity and diversity of the built-in electric field in polar materials, it is not clear how to enhance the photocatalytic performance and how to control the polar electric field effectively. To this end, four-layered bismuth oxyhalides, BiOX, and BiOXO3 (X = Br, I) were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that they all have the structure characteristics of a sillenite phase. Scanning electron microscopy images show that they all have the morphology of nanosheets. Among them, BiOBrO3 was successfully synthesized and characterized for the first time in the present work. The order of photocatalytic performance (including carrier's lifetime, photocurrent density, and H-2 evolution rate) of the four compounds is listed as follows: BiOBrO3 > BiOI > BiOIO3 > BiOBr. In the bulk of the BiOXO3 photocatalyst, the spontaneous polar built-in electric field along the [001] direction is the crucial factor to inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, while the surface polar electric field in BiOI can outstandingly inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs due to the breaking of the mirror symmetry. Therefore, regulating the microstructure and composition of the structure unit, which generates the built-in electric field, can indeed control the magnitude, direction, and effects of built-in electric fields. In practice, we should carefully adjust the strategy according to the actual situation so as to reasonably design and use the polar electric field, giving full play to its role and enhancing the photocatalytic performance.