NiS/BiOBr hybrids with retarded carrier recombination and enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

In this work, nickel sulfide (NiS)/bismuth oxybromide (BiOBr) hybrids were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method. Some advanced tools were employed to characterize the crystal phase, morphological evolution, light absorption and photocatalytic performance. Significantly, NiS/BiOBr hybrids exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity toward rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light irradiation. Comparatively, NS/BOB-3.0 showed the highest degradation rate, over 2.5 times higher than that of pure BiOBr. Furthermore, the retarded recombination rate of photogenerated carriers contributed to the improved photocatalytic performance. The results indicate that hybrids may be a promising method for enhancing the photocatalytic ability of BiOX-based semiconductor.