Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of BiOBr-AC composite photocatalyst

A series of mesoporous BiOBr-activated carbon (AC) composite photocatalysts with different content of AC were synthesized by an in situ loading solvothermal method. The obtained samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and UV/vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS). Results showed that the composite samples exhibit higher BET values and stronger adsorption ability for organic pollutants. Moreover, the existence of AC influenced the size of BiOBr deposited on ACs. High photocatalytic activity was observed for the degradation of the heteropolyaromatic dye methylene blue (MB) under both UV and visible light irradiation. Additionally, the results indicated that there was an optimum AC amount of 80% for obtaining the highest photocatalytic activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.