Incorporation of Sn-doped BiOCl with reduced graphene oxide for enhanced natural sunlight photocatalysis

Abstract Exploring novel photocatalytic materials is of paramount importance for the environmental remediation. Herein, a facile and efficient route for the controllable synthesis of Sn-doped BiOCl/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites is reported for the first time. Elemental characterization indicates that RGO and Sn-doped BiOCl coexist in composites. Electron microscopy inspection shows that Sn-doped BiOCl clusters are well dispersed on RGO layers. The composites exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B under natural sunlight irradiation, as compared to pure Sn-doped BiOCl without RGO incorporation. The optimum conditions in photocatalytic performances of the Sn-BiOCl/RGO composites have also been systematically probed.