Homogeneous {001}-BiOBr/Bi Heterojunctions: Facile Controllable Synthesis and Morphology-Dependent Photocatalytic Activity

The homogeneous BiOBr/Bi heterojunctions photocatalyst was synthesized from {001} facet dominated BiOBr flakes via a PVP-assisted in situ reduction reaction at room temperature. The high {001} facet exposure of BiOBr could induce the homogeneous distribution of metallic Bi on the surface of BiOBr. The introduction of PVP not only effectively protected the uniform structure but also largely promoted the photocatalysis properties. Compared to the bare BiOBr, an obviously enhanced photochemical performance was achieved over the homogeneous BiOBr/Bi pertaining to methyl orange (MO) degradation and photocurrent generation. The highly enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed not only to the surface plasmon resonance effect and efficient separation of electron-hole pairs by the metallic Bi but also to its uniform and regular structure. The present work provided a new approach to the development of attractive bismuth-based-photocatalysts/metallic Bi heterostructures with controllable structures and photocatalytic performance.