Low concentration nitric acid facilitate rapid electron-hole separation in vacancy-rich bismuth oxyiodide for photo-thermo-synergistic oxidation of formaldehyde

•Vacancy-rich BiOI were prepared via low concentration nitric acid treatment.•Vacancy-rich BiOI show enhanced photocatalytic activity.•The photocatalytic process is mainly governed by the superoxide and the holes.•Such Vacancy-rich BiOI have a promising practical application in photocatalysis.

Searching for simple and effective methods for large-scale production of defective catalysts is of key importance, but remains a big challenge. Herein, we report a simple, scalable and effective method to produce defects in photocatalysts, which is significant for industrial application. Surprisingly, the defects on the photo-thermo-catalysts could not only availably decrease the recombination of photoelectrons and holes, but also increase the production of reactive oxygen species, which demonstrated a superior improvement in photo-thermo-catalytic activity coupled with ultrastable stability. These findings feature the fundamental role of surface defects structure on producing more oxygen reactive species and may create advance avenues for the rational design of extremely efficient photo-thermo-catalysts via surface engineering.

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