One-pot synthesis of BiSbO4/BiOBr nanocomposite with excellent UV-photocatalytic activity

A facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis procedure and UV-photocatalytic activity of a series of BiSbO4/BiOBr nanocomposites with various BiSbO4-rich contents were first-time reported in this work. The results showed that BiSbO4/BiOBr nanocomposites containing 10-nm BiOBr nanocubes embedded on BiSbO4 nanobundles were obtained readily. For the optimized BiSbO4/BiOBr nanocomposite, the methyl orange photocatalytic removal efficiency under 365-nm UV illumination was 90% after 120 min, pronouncedly higher than that of the pure BiSbO4 sample (22%). A heterogeneous phase junction formed between BiSbO4 nanobundles and embedded BiOBr nanocubes was supposed to be a major factor causing this enhanced photocatalytic activity of the optimized nanocomposite sample. The mechanism of methyl orange photodegradation over BiSbO4/BiOBr nanocomposites containing heterogeneous phase junction was also proposed.