Efficient visible light photocatalytic removal of NO with BiOBr-graphene nanocomposites

In this study, we demonstrate that bismuth oxybromide and graphene nanocomposites (BGCs) exhibit superior performance on photocatalytic removal of gaseous nitrogen monoxide (NO) to pure BiOBr under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The photocatalytic NO removal rate constant of BGCs was 2 times that of pure BiOBr. The BGCs were prepared by a facile solvothermal route with using graphene oxide (GO), bismuth nitrite, and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the precursors. During the synthesis, both of the reduction of GO and the formation of BiOBr nanocrystals were achieved simultaneously. On the basis of the characterization results, we attributed the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the BGCs nanocomposites to more effective charge transportations and separations arisen from the strong chemical bonding between BiOBr and graphene, not to their light absorption extension in the visible region and higher surface area. Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society.