Hierarchical Bi-doped BiOBr microspheres assembled from nanosheets with (0 0 1) facet exposed via crystal facet engineering toward highly efficient visible light photocatalysis

Abstract A facile one-step solvothermal process was used to synthesize Bi-doped BiOBr microspheres with mainly the (001) crystal facet exposed (Bi/BiOBr-001-m), which exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic performance and stability of the obtained Bi/BiOBr-001-m photocatalyst for Cr(VI) photoreduction removal and rhodamine B (RhB) photooxidation degradation were significantly better than those of pure BiOBr and Bi-doped BiOBr microspheres. The enhanced performance is ascribed to the retarding effect of photoinduced electron–hole recombination caused by Bi doping and the predominant (001) crystal plane composite structure. The photocatalytic performance could be further boosted by the adsorbed RhB owing to the dye sensitization effect. This work provides a reference for effectively improving the photocatalytic performance by combining crystal facet engineering and element doping.