AgBr nanoparticles-improved photocatalytic property of BiOBr nanosheets

In this paper, a two-step route was designed to prepare AgBr nanoparticles (NPs)-modified BiOBr nanoplates. Smooth BiOBr nanoplates were firstly synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method employing Bi(NO3)3 and KBr as the reactants in the absence of any surfactant or template; sequentially, smooth BiOBr nanoplates were immerged into a diluted AgNO3 solution to generate AgBr/BiOBr composite nanostructures based on ion exchanges. The as-obtained products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Photodegradation experiments showed that AgBr NPs-modified BiOBr nanoplates exhibited superior and better photocatalytic property compared with commercial P25 and pure BiOBr nanoplates.

► AgBr nanoparticles-modified BiOBr nanoplates were synthesized by a two-step route.
► Bi(NO3)3, KBr and AgNO3 were used as the reactants in the absence of surfactants.
► AgBr/BiOBr hybrids exhibited better photocatalytic property compared with P25.
► AgBr/BiOBr hybrids showed superior photodegradation ability compared with pure BiOBr.