Black BiOCl with disorder surface structure prepared by Fe reduction and the enhanced photocatalytic activity

•Black BiOCl with disorder surface structure was successfully prepared by a facile Fe reduction method.•The as-prepared black sample exhibited a broad absorption covered the whole visible light region.•The black sample exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than white BiOCl under visible light irradiation.•High-resolution TEM images revealed disorder surface structure could lead to the formation of black BiOCl.

Black bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) with disordered surface structure has been prepared by a facile Fe reduction method and successfully used as a visible-light photocatalyst. XRD and FESEM results showed that black BiOCl has pure BiOCl phase with plate-like structure. The as-prepared black sample exhibited a broad absorption covered the whole visible light region. The high-resolution TEM images revealed the disordered surface structure, which could be the reason for the black color of BiOCl. The disordered surface was not only responsible for the visible-light absorption but also played a vital role in improving the separation of photo-induced electrons and holes. Methyl orange (MO) photocatalytic degradation experiments showed that the black sample exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than the pristine BiOCl under visible light irradiation. A possible formation mechanism of black BiOCl under Fe reduction was also proposed in our research work.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide