Double Br sources fabrication and photocatalytic property of p-n junction BiOBr/ZnO composites for phenol removal

P-n junction BiOBr/ZnO composites were prepared by a facile solvothermal process with double Br sources of CTAB and KBr. The samples were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, DRS, BET and PL. The BiOBr/ZnO composites exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than single BiOBr and ZnO for the degradation of phenol under simulated sunlight irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of BiOBr/ZnO composites could be mainly ascribed to the high-efficiency separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs through BiOBr/ZnO p-n junction. The reaction mechanism for the removal of phenol was also discussed. Hole and center dot OH were the main reactive species. Moreover, the influence of disparate ratios of double Br sources to BiOBr/ZnO composites was also investigated. The results indicated that the BiOBr/ZnO composites prepared by double Br sources showed better photocatalytic activities than the sample prepared by single Br source.