Synthetic Bi2O2CO3 nanostructures: Novel photocatalyst with controlled special surface exposed

In this work a novel Bi2O2CO3 photocatalyst was first put forward by virtue of structural understanding. In particular, the flower-like Bi2O2CO3 hierarchitecture with the controlled special {0 0 1} plane exposed was first synthesized via a mild route, showing the excellent photocatalytic activity due to the large distortion of Bi–O on the exposed surface. The Bi2O2CO3 nanostructures have proved to be not only a new photocatalyst under solar light irradiation, but also a possible example for investigating the key factors of which may impact on the photocatalytic ability. The results confirmed that the higher efficiency of the photocatalytic activity should be contributed synergistically by the higher BET surface area and the special exposed surface.