Facile Synthesis of N-Doped BiOCl Photocatalyst by an Ethylenediamine-Assisted Hydrothermal Method

Abstract EN

A nitrogen doped BiOCl (N-BiOCl) photocatalyst was synthesized and characterized using an ethylenediamine-assisted hydrothermal method.

The N-BiOCl sample demonstrated the same tetragonal crystal structure as the as-prepared pure BiOCl sample.

SEM results indicated that N-BiOCl sample was self-assembled by nanoplates to provide an aggregated flower-like microstructure.

Doped nitrogen was substituted for oxygen in the crystal lattice of BiOCl, causing a red shift for N-BiOCl sample compared to BiOCl sample.

The N-BiOCl sample exhibited higher photocatalytic activity in the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light than observed in BiOCl sample, and the stability of the sample was verified.

Meanwhile, speculative causes for the enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of N-BiOCl sample were also proposed.