LAUSR

Abstract A facile ultrasound-assisted alcoholysis method was developed to in situ anchor BiOCl0.5Br0.5 (BOCB) nanosheets onto the surface of natural schorl particulates. X-ray diffraction peak intensity ratio of (0 0 1) to (1 0 2) of BOCB indicated the preferentially exposed {0 0 1} crystal planes. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation rate of RhB over BOCB/schorl composite was higher than that over BOCB. The lower photoluminescence emission intensity revealed that schorl could effectively enhance the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs of BOCB, which might be caused by the synergy between the external polarization electric field of schorl and the internal polarization electric field of BOCB. This study provides a new approach for developing the polarization electric field assisted strategies for the enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency.