Photocatalytic properties of BiOI synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process

Abstract BiOI nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal process at 433 K, and characterized by various techniques. The photocatalytic property and mechanism of BiOI were investigated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution under UV and visible light irradiation. The results indicated that BiOI had a tetragonal crystal structure, BET surface area of 30.8 m2 g−1, and band-gap energy of 1.75 eV. The UV and visible light photoactivity of BiOI was higher than that of TiO2 (P25), and O2−, h+, and H2O2 played important roles in the photo-degradation of MO and MB.