Facile synthesis of BiOCl nano-flowers of narrow band gap and their visible-light-induced photocatalytic property

Novel nanostructured flower-like bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) has been fast synthesized by a simple method in the presence of nitric acid and l-Lysine. The BiOCl nano-flowers, with a narrow band gap (2.87 eV), show excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of Rh–B dye under visible light (λ ≥ 435 nm), much higher than those of the photocatalysts ever reported in the literatures.

► BiOCl nano-flowers of narrow band gap were fast synthesized at room temperature.
► They showed excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation.
► The preparation process is simple, time-saving, low-cost and green.