Microwave-assisted synthesis of flower-like Ag–BiOCl nanocomposite with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Flower-like BiOCl and Ag–BiOCl nanocomposite have been successfully fabricated via a microwave irradiation process. The structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The photocatalytic property of the BiOCl and Ag–BiOCl nanocomposite was evaluated by photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light illumination. Results of photodegradation tests reveal that the Ag–BiOCl nanocomposite has much better photocatalytic activity than pure BiOCl. The excellent photocatalytic activity can be ascribed to the high effective electron–hole separation which results in the significant improvement of the photocatalytic activity of BiOCl.