BiOX/Bi/BiOX (X = Cl, Br) Double‐Side Nanosheet Arrays: Synthesis, Structures, and Photo(electro)catalytic Applications

Abstract

Array‐structured photocatalysts, featuring unique transport properties of charge carriers and special texture structures, have captured widespread interest in photocatalytic and/or photoelectrocatalytic applications. However, the fabrication of arrays usually suffers from complicated synthetic routes and the indispensable use of substrates. Herein, a novel BiOX/Bi/BiOX (X = Cl, Br) double‐side nanosheet array catalyst, with vertically aligned BiOX nanosheets symmetrically grown on the two sides of horizontal Bi nanoplates, is first constructed by a facile solution‐phase solvothermal route in the absence of any substrates. Both l‐cysteine and ethylene glycol are found to play critical roles in the formation of Bi nanoplates and the growth of BiOX nanosheets. Thanks to the synergism of double‐side metal‐semiconductor array, BiOX/Bi/BiOX presents significantly boosted performance for photocatalytic selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, far surpassing Bi/BiOX and pristine BiOX. Additionally, BiOX/Bi/BiOX also exhibits superior photoelectrocatalytic performance with excellent hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction activity. The electrochemical analysis and photoluminescence results reveal that the middle Bi nanoplate can function as a fast transport channel for photogenerated electrons, significantly accelerating the separation of photogenerated carriers. This work provides a general substrate‐free strategy to construct array catalysts with double‐side structure and reveals the outstanding advantages toward improved photocatalysis.

Pine Dendritic Bi/BiOBr Photocatalyst for Efficient Degradation of Antibiotics

“…Overall, l -Cys as a structure-directing reagent can adjust the morphology of materials. When the amount of l -Cys was less, the BiO X /Bi/BiO X ( X = Cl, Br) double-sided nanosheets were formed (shown in Figure S3), whose growth mechanism has been explored in our previous report . More specially, in the present study, when the amount of l -Cys was increased, the pine dendritic nanoassembly structure can be obtained.…”

“…Following the same synthesis steps, the Bi/BiOCl sample was obtained using KCl as a raw material. As a comparison, the spherical Bi/BiOBr and lamellar BiOBr were synthesized according to the experimental steps in the report. , The morphologies of spherical Bi/BiOBr and lamellar BiOBr are shown in Figure S1.…”

“…In the synthesis of nanomaterials, l -Cys can usually function as the coordination agent to interact with metal ions because of its strong affinity to metal ions . In our recent work, we have used l -Cys as a structure-directing reagent to synthesize BiO X /Bi/BiO X ( X = Cl, Br) double-sided nanosheets and achieved good photocatalytic effect . In addition, it has been reported that the concentration of l -Cys influenced the growth rate of different crystal faces in the synthesis of nanomaterials with special structures .…”

A bifunctional-iodine coordination bismuth crystallization material: Excellent photocatalytic and adsorption properties as well as mechanism investigation

“…Many inorganic Bi-containing compounds such as Bi 2 O 3 , BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I), Bi 2 MoO 6 , BiVO 4 and so on due to narrow band gaps, low toxicity, good environmental acceptability and low price be widely used in the eld of photochemical technique. [14][15][16][17][18][19] In 1999, Kudo et al reported that the bismuth tungsten showed photocatalytic activity under the visible light irradiation. [20] Although it has the above advantages, in recent years, compounds contain covalent organic moiety are still seldom used as photocatalysts.…”

Boosting Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation via In Situ Constructing Bi Metal Active Sites over BiOBr/BiOI Heterojunction

“…The [Bi 2 O 2 ] 2+ and [Br − ] are perpendicular to the internal electric field, which facilitates the separation of photon‐generated carriers. [ 18 ] BiOBr is also an indirect transition semiconductor, which facilitates the reduction of the probability of electron–hole recombination. Based on the above discussion, BiOBr is considered as a potential photocatalyst for photocatalytic N 2 fixation.…”