Synthesis of erbium ions doped BiOBr via a reactive ionic liquid with improved photocatalytic activity

• Novel Er ions doped BiOBr microspheres have been synthesized in the present of [C16mim]Br.
• The Er/BiOBr composites exhibited higher visible light photocatalytic activity than pure BiOBr on the degradation of CIP.
• The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the improved separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs and reduced band gap.

Erbium (Er)-doped BiOBr with different Er ions doping concentrations has been synthesized through a solvothermal method in the presence of reactive ionic liquid 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C16mim]Br). The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform spectrophotometer (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The photocatalytic activities of the Er ions doped BiOBr samples were evaluated by the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) under visible-light irradiation. The results assumed that doping of Er ions over BiOBr led to the increase of the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation and 3 wt% Er/BiOBr showed the highest photocatalytic activity. The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the improved separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs and reduced band gap.

Erbium ions doped BiOBr has been synthesized through a solvothermal method in the presence of reactable ionic liquid 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C16mim]Br). The sphere-like Er/BiOBr hierarchical structures were formed with an average diameter of 2–3 μm. The photocatalytic activities of pure BiOBr and Er/BiOBr samples were evaluated by the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) under visible-light irradiation, in which 3 wt% Er/BiOBr showed the highest photocatalytic activity. The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the improved separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs and reduced band gap.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide