Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Nd-Doped BiOBr Microflowers and Photodegradation of Rhodamine B Molecules

0-3% Nd-doped BiOBr microflowers were synthesized by a one-step microwave-assisted method. Phase, morphology and optical property of Nd-doped BiOBr samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The samples were investigated for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under UV-visible radiation of a 35 W xenon lamp for 60 min. The results showed that the degradation efficiencies of Nd doped BiOBr samples were higher than that of the un-doped BiOBr. The 2%Nd-doped BiOBr sample shows the highest photocatalytic activity of 98% and has a good reusability and photostability within three cycles. During the photocatalysis of 2% Nd doped BiOBr, the main active species in degrading of RhB were superoxide radical (•O2 –) and hole (h+).