Boron-doped bismuth oxybromide microspheres with enhanced surface hydroxyl groups: Synthesis, characterization and dramatic photocatalytic activity

B-doped BiOBr photocatalysts were successfully synthesized via a facile solvothermal method with boric acid used as boron source. As-obtained products consist of novel hierarchical microspheres, whose nanosheet building units were formed by nanoparticles splicing. They showed dramatic photocatalytic efficiency toward the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol under the visible-light irradiation and the highest activity was achieved by 0.075B-BiOBr. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the enriched surface hydroxyl groups on B-doped BiOBr samples, which not only improved the adsorption of pollutant on the photocatalyst but also promoted the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. In addition, it was found that the main reactive species responsible for the degradation of organic pollutant were h+ and O2− radicals, instead of OH radicals.

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