Abstract

• Visible-light response and highly effective charge separation are the vital factors to improve the photocatalytic performance of photocatalysts. In this study, two-dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon nitride/bismuth oxychloride (g-C3N4/BiOCl) heterojunctions were synthesized by one-pot ethanolassisted solvothermal process in the presence of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl). The ionic liquid acts as solvent, and electrically conducting fluids in the synthesis process, contributing to the uniform dispersion of g-C3N4 on the BiOCl surface. The nanostructured heterojunction was formed with g-C3N4 covering the surface of BiOCl nanosheets uniformly. 2D gC3N4/BiOCl heterojunctions showed higher photocatalytic performance for Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation compared with pure g-C3N4 and BiOCl. The mechanism of synthesized sample g-C3N4/BiOCl-4 showed that ˚O2- and h+ plays an active role in the degradation process and the separation of photo induced charges transversely the heterostructure boundary reversed electron-hole recombination. This study provides a new insight into the development of high efficient and stable catalyst with tunable catalytic activity.