Abstract

• Well-crystallized flake-like bismuth oxychloride nanoparticles (BiOCl NPs) were successfully synthesized by a solvothermal process using bismuth(III) nitrate pentahydrate (Bi(NO3)3.5H2O) and potassium chloride (KCl) with various ratios of ethanol and distilled water (10:90, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 90:10 v/v). The synthesized BiOCl NPs were characterized by using XRD, SEM, UV-visible, FT IR and TG-DTA analysis. Degradation of Rhodamine B and Eriochrome Black T in aqueous media was estimated spectrophotometrically in the visible range at 553 and 545 nm, respectively. Among them, BiOCl-4 showed the highest photodegradation performance under UV light exposure due to the formation of nanosheets. The mechanism of synthesized BiOCl-4 is evaluated by conduction band and valence band values. So, the synthesized BiOCl NPs can be used as photocatalysts in the photodegradation of aqueous organic dyes.