Rapid adsorption properties of flower-like BiOI nanoplates synthesized via a simple EG-assisted solvothermal process

Uniform well-crystallized flower-like BiOI nanoplates contained 3.7 nm mesopores, which may be attributed to the internanosheet spaces of BiOI with maximum pore diameters of about 30 nm, were successfully synthesized via a simple ethylene glycol-assisted solvothermal method. The as-prepared porous BiOI nanoplates exhibited excellent adsorption ability, and the saturated extent of adsorption of BiOI over an RhB solution was as high as 197 mg/g, which is much higher than those for BiOCl and BiOBr prepared via the same method and with a similar surface area. The probable adsorption mechanism could have originated from the interaction between the I atom in BiOI and a proton in RhB at different pH values and temperatures. With visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), 80 % of the RhB was degraded in 4 h, while BiOI still demonstrated reasonably outstanding photocatalytic ability under green light (λ = 550 ± 15 nm) because of its low-energy gap (1.72 eV). The degradation test for BiOI under irradiation at λ = 550 ± 15 nm is an excellent achievement for field applications because the catalyst can be applied in solar irradiation to remove organic pollutants, which may be of great value BiOI complex.