Large-scale preparation of BiOX (X = Cl, Br) ultrathin nanosheets for efficient photocatalytic CO2 conversion.

BiOX (X = Br and Cl) have been widely used for photocatalytic environmental remediation and solar fuels generation. Here, we applied a new method for large scale preparation of BiOX ultrathin nanosheets. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), BET surface area (BET), photoluminescence spectra (PL), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The BiOCl ultrathin nanosheets (BOC-U) and BiOBr ultrathin nanosheets (BOB-U) showed enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO 2 conversion than bulk BiOCl and BiOBr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]