Progress on synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic applications of bismuth oxyhalide based nanomaterials in cleaner environment and energy - A review

Abstract

Bi based materials have been the subject of interest from past few years due to their peculiar, layered morphology and efficient band gap suitable for many applications notably photocatalysis. Photocatalysis being a high efficiency ecologically benign technology involves the use of light and a photocatalyst (semiconductor) for reactions to generate charge carriers involved in photocatalytic performance. Among all available photocatalysts, bismuth oxyhalides-based (BiOX, X = Cl, Br, I) nanomaterials with the available oxygen vacancies become a new trend in various applications i.e., water remediation, ammonia synthesis, hydrogen evolution and carbon dioxide reduction etc. Furthermore, now a days BiOX nanomaterials are also widely used to construct efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors used for various purposes etc. Thus, this review offers a contemporary summary of recent progress in surface modification through diverse design strategies, their impact on photocatalytic efficiency, and the wide array of applications via photocatalysis. Finally, we highlighted the challenges and future prospects by keeping in focus the advance applications. We aim to help researchers to design versatile but novel bismuth oxyhalide (BiOX) nanomaterials for a range of applications, and boost its photocatalytic efficiency, thereby advancing its effectiveness.