BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts with abundant activated sites for the enhanced photodegradation of rhodamine b under visible light irradiation

Abstract In this work, bismuth bromideoxide (BiOBr), a typical visible-light photocatalyst, was coated with Zr-based MOFs (UiO-66) to prepare the BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts with different mole ratios by the solvothermal method. The core–shell BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts with abundant activated sites was obtained due to the modification of UiO-66 on the surface of BiOBr. The structure and properties of the BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts were characterized by several methods. The 30% BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts exhibited the biggest photodegradation rate constant (k = 0.0669 min−1) for RhB under visible-light irradiation than pure BiOBr (k = 0.0281 min−1) and UiO-66 (k = 0.0041 min−1). Additionally, the 30% BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts exhibited the enhanced photocatalytic activity and stable recyclability due to the effective electron-hole separation and synergistic effect. The photocatalytic mechanism of the BiOBr@UiO-66 photocatalysts for RhB, which contained a photosensitization process, was discussed with the trapping experiment of active species and the proposed energy band alignments.