Enhanced solar photocatalytic performance of (BiO)2CO3 prepared with the assistance of ionic liquid

Photocatalytic performance of (BiO)2CO3 is limited by the high recombination rate of photo-generated carriers, thus it is imperative to promote the photocatalytic activity of (BiO)2CO3. In this study, (BiO)2CO3 with enhanced sunlight photocatalytic performance was prepared through a hydrothermal routine with the assistance of ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethel-3-methylimdazolium hydrosulfate ([EMIm]HSO4). The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analyzer and surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS). The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated using methyl orange (MO) as model pollutant. The results reveal that IL-(BiO)2CO3 exhibits better photocatalytic performance than the reference of (BiO)2CO3.