Hydrothermal synthesis, characterisation and photocatalytic properties of BiOIO3nanoplatelets

In this work, BiOIO3 nanoplatelets were successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterised by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and ultraviolet visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared BiOIO3 nanoplatelets were evaluated by photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated solar light. The results showed that the change of temperature within a certain range has almost no influence on the morphology and size of BiOIO3 nanoplatelets. However, it had an obvious effect on the photocatalytic performance of BiOIO3 nanoplatelets. The results showed that the BiOIO3 sample synthesised at 130 °C exhibited the highest photocatalytic activities compared to others, with RhB completely decomposed in 80 min. The products with proper crystallinity formed at 130 °C have the optimal rate of RhB photodegradation. It indicated that the most favourable crystallinity made it beneficial to improve the photocatalytic activity. The possible mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction based on deep analysis and the experimental results was discussed in detail.