A BiOBr/Co-Ni layered double hydroxide nanocomposite with excellent adsorption and photocatalytic properties

A BiOBr/Co-Ni-NO3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposite was prepared by an in situ growth method via a facile anion-exchange precipitation process. The resulting BiOBr/Co-Ni-NO3 LDH nanocomposite was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas. Results showed that the BiOBr nanosheets dispersed well on the surface of the LDHs in a vertical manner, like arrays. Moreover, compared to pure BiOBr nanosheets, Co-Ni-NO3 LDHs and Co-Ni-Br LDHs, the BiOBr/Co-Ni-NO3 LDH nanocomposite showed much higher adsorption and photocatalytic properties for organic dyes (methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB)) and phenol under UV-light irradiation. Furthermore, the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of dyes under UV-light irradiation was investigated in detail. This work paves a way to design new types of LDH-based 2D-2D composite photocatalysts with high adsorption and photocatalytic activity.