Fabrication of BiOI nanosheets with exposed (001) and (110) facets with different methods for photocatalytic oxidation elemental mercury

Abstract BiOI nanosheets with dominantly exposed (001) and (110) facets were synthesized by different methods. The physicochemical properties of BiOI with different exposed surfaces were analyzed through characterization and experiments. It was found that the BiOI on the exposed main (001) facets showed better photogenerated electron scattering separation and transfer efficiency and better photocatalytic oxidation activity. It was speculated that the (001) crystal plane of BiOI was more conducive to the separation and migration of free radical carriers, which promoted the photocatalytic reaction. This work can provide directions for environmental purification applications by exposing dominant crystal planes to improve photocatalyst activity.