Synthesis and Characterization of BiOCl Powders with Soft Templates

Bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) powders were synthesized via a hydro/solvothermal method from BiCl3. Synthesis were performed in the presence of different capping agents namely polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), ethylenediamine (C2H4(NH2)2) or dextrose (C6H12O6). The reaction media, nature of capping agent, weight or molar ratio Bi:capping agent and temperature play an important role in the formation of well-defined morphology of BiOCl powders, which varies from melt crystals to plate-like structures. The as-obtained BiOCl/capping agent systems were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and IR spectroscopy. Among the selected capping agents, the C2H4(NH2)2 promote a defined morphology of the BiOCl crystals being a potential soft template. BiOCl/C2H4(NH2)2 system synthesized in aqueous medium clearly illustrate the effect of the Bi:C2H4(NH2)2 ratio on the morphology of BiOCl powders. The photocatalytic activity of BiOCl/C2H4(NH2)2 (1:0.5 molar ratio or 0.5 equiv.) and TiO2:BiOCl composites were evaluated on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV–Vis light irradiation and compared with commercial TiO2 (Degussa, P25). It was pointed out that BiOCl powders with well-defined rectangular plate-like morphology have a higher photocatalytic activity during MB photodegradation in comparison to TiO2:BiOCl composites and similar to commercial TiO2.