Facile microwave synthesis of novel hierarchical Bi24O31Br10 nanoflakes with excellent visible light photocatalytic performance for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

A simple, one-step, and energy-saving microwave heating route for rapid synthesis of hierarchical Bi 24 O 31 Br 10 nanoflakes has been demonstrated. And its visible-light photocatalytic performance for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC, a commonly used antibiotic) containing in wastewater is investigated systematically. The results reveal that the Bi 24 O 31 Br 10 is obtained by the reaction of BiOBr with OH − over the pH range from 9.5 to 11.5, and the formation mechanism of such hierarchical structure can be explained by a dissolution–recrystallization process under microwave heating. The as-synthesized Bi 24 O 31 Br 10 nanoflakes exhibit a stronger visible light absorption (band gap energy 2.51   eV), higher BET surface area (40.1   m 2   g −1 ), and negatively charged surface, which results in the enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of TC than three-dimensional (3D) BiOBr microspheres under identical visible light irradiation. In addition, the Bi 24 O 31 Br 10 nanoflakes are relatively stable during the reaction and can be used repeatedly, showing promising prospect for the treatment of tetracyclines in future industrial application.