Synthesis process and photocatalytic properties of BiOBr nanosheets for gaseous benzene.

A series of nano-BiOBr were prepared by an effective hydrothermal method in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and ethanol at different calcination temperatures. The as-prepared nano-BiOBr samples were characterized by measuring the specific area (S BET), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the calcination temperature has an important impact on the morphology and microstructure of BiOBr. The nano-BiOBr calcined at 120 °C showed excellent photocatalytic degradation properties for benzene, with photocatalytic degradation rate of 75 % for benzene under UV irradiation for 90 min, and removal efficiency of benzene was significantly enhanced by using nano-BiOBr catalyst compared to UV irradiation alone. BiOBr catalyst possessed good photocatalytic activity even after three consecutive photocatalytic reaction cycles, illustrating its excellent stability. The photocatalytic degradation of benzene followed the first-order kinetics, and the good catalytic capability of nano-BiOBr catalyst can be attributed to its crystalline, hierarchical nanostructure and nanosheet thickness.