Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics and dye using flower-like BiOBrxI1-x solid solutions formed from self-assembled nanosheets

Flower-like BiOBr x I 1-x solid solutions with varying Br/I ratios were successfully prepared via a facile precipitation method. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by degrading representative pollutants, including tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), and rhodamine B dye (RhB). All solid solutions exhibited enhanced activity compared to pure BiOBr and BiOI, and BiOBr 0.5 I 0.5 demonstrated the highest degradation efficiencies of 81.7 %, 76.4 %, and 98.5 % for TC, OTC, and RhB within 30 min, respectively. The formation of a solid solution altered the band structure and provided multiple active sites for photocatalytic reaction, thus accelerating the separation of charge carriers. Moreover, the main active species were revealed through capture experiments and electron spin resonance tests.