Microspheres of graphene oxide coupled to N-doped Bi2O2CO3 for visible light photocatalysis

Hierarchical microspheres of a graphene oxide (GO) coupled to N-doped (BiO)2CO3 composite (N-BOC-GO) was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal approach. The N-BOC-GO composite gave enhancement in photocatalytic activity compared to the pure BOC and N-BOC samples. With 1.0 wt% GO, 62% NO removal was obtained with N-BOC-GO. The factors enhancing the photocatalytic performance were the high electron-withdrawing ability and high conductivity of GO and improved visible light-harvesting ability of N-BOC-GO with a 3D hierarchical architecture due to the surface scattering and reflecting (SSR) effect. An effective charge transfer from N-BOC to GO was demonstrated by the much weakened photoluminescene intensity of the N-BOC-GO composite. This work highlights the potential application of GO-based photocatalysts in air purification.