Facile aqueous-phase synthesis of stabilizer-free photocatalytic nanoparticles

One of the challenges of using nanoparticles as catalysts is the presence of reaction-disturbing stabilizers that surround the nanoparticle surface. In this report, we demonstrate a method to synthesize stabilizer-free bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) nanoparticles to increase photocatalytic activity. This synthesis method is remarkably simple, involving only BiCl₃ and deionized water. After heating an aqueous solution containing BiCl₃, plate-shaped BiOCl nanoparticles were formed. The stabilizer-free BiOCl nanoplates exhibited higher photocatalytic activities compared to polyvinylpyrrolidone-and polyethyleneimine-stabilized nanoplates for the degradation of methylene blue.