Structural modifications of BiOBr nanoplates by electron beam irradiation

Abstract In this study, BiOBr nanoplates are synthesized through the hydrothermal method, then samples have been irradiated by an electron beam of 10 MeV energy to deliver doses of 100 kGy and 500 kGy. XRD and Raman investigations corroborated the presence of a pure phase in all nanoplate samples. The sharp and narrow peaks in XRD indicate well crystalline in nature of the samples, which decreases with increasing the electron dose as confirmed by the decay in peak intensity. Conversely, the peak position shifts at lower angle with increasing the electron dose. Structural factors including lattice parameter, dislocation density, cell volume, microstrain, as well as stacking fault have been found to change due to electron beam irradiation. We employed the Debey-Scherrer formula (D-S), Size Strain Plot method (SSP), and Halder Wagner (H-W) methods to determine the crystal size and strain of purified and irradiated BiOBr nanoplates. It has been found that the size of the crystallites increases nonlinearly as the irradiation dose increases. All three of the aforementioned calculation methods have observed this trend. Strain and dislocation density exhibited the opposite trend of crystallite size, as they decreased as the irradiation dose increased. The dislocation density, strain, and crystallite size values are nearly identical for the SSP and H-W procedures, while the D-S method exhibits values with deviation. The tetragonal structure and the Raman active mode, which we have identified as closely resembling those in other literature of this composition, are discussed in the respective section. Because of their intriguing phase strength, the synthesized nanoplates may be suitable for the degradation of organic pollutants and the separation of water through photo-electrocatalysis.