Growth of BiOBr nanosheets on C₃N₄ nanosheets to construct two-dimensional nanojunctions with enhanced photoreactivity for NO removal

The development of approaches to effectively separate the photo-induced charge carriers is a key strategy to promote the photocatalytic activity of semiconductor photocatalysts. This work represents the construction of novel two-dimensional (2D) BiOBr/C₃N₄ nanojunctions by the growth of BiOBr nanosheets on the surface of C₃N₄ nanosheets at room temperature. The samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, UV–vis DRS and PL. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the removal of NO in air under visible light irradiation. The results indicated that electronic coupling took place between the {0 0 1} plane of BiOBr and {0 0 2} plane of C₃N₄. The BiOBr/C₃N₄ nanojunctions exhibited enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity compared with pure BiOBr and C₃N₄. The enhanced photoactivity can be mainly ascribed to the efficient separation and transportation of photo-induced electrons and holes due to the well-coupled crystal planes and well-matched band structures. The present work could provide new insights into the design and construction of 2D nanojunctions with well-matched crystal planes and band structures for efficient visible light photocatalysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc.