SDS-assisted solvothermal synthesis of BiOBr microspheres with highly visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Hierarchical BiOBr microspheres were synthesized in the presence of anionic surfactant SDS for the first time.
• The sphere-like BiOBr exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation.

Hierarchical BiOBr microspheres were firstly synthesized via a facile solvothermal route in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The products were characterized by XRD, XPS, FESEM and TEM. The results showed that the BiOBr microspheres between 2 μm and 4 μm in diameter were constructed by interlaced nanoflakes with the thickness of about 25 nm, and the 2D nanoflakes were composed of nanocrystals of about 8 nm in size. Photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared BiOBr was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of RhodamineB (RhB) under visible light irradiation. Within 30 min, the degradation rate reached almost 100%.