Preparation of BiOCl1-xIx solid solution and its visible light photocatalytic performance

In this paper, BiOCl1-xIx (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) solid solution was synthesized by one-step ultrasound-assisted solvothermal method. A series of samples with different band gap values was obtained by varying the amount of components. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV-Vis DRS, ESR, and BET specific surface area. The PL and EIS methods were used to evaluate the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electrons and holes. Photocatalytic experiments under visible light show that the degradation efficiency of BiOCl0.6I0.4 for acid red B (ARB) is 96.4% under 2 h irradiation time. After five times of recycling, the degradation rate of ARB was 91%. The results of free radical quenching experiments showed that the dominant role of BiOCl0.6I0.4 in the photocatalytic degradation of ARB is the oxidation of h(+). A preliminary discussion on the photocatalytic mechanism was made.