Controlled deposition of Au on (BiO)2CO3 microspheres: the size and content of Au nanoparticles matter†
Abstract
Novel 3D Au/(BiO)2CO3 (Au/BOC) heterostructures with size-controlled Au nanoparticles (NPs) (2–10 nm) were first synthesized and used in photocatalytic removal of ppb-level NO for air cleaning. The photocatalytic performance of Au/BOC heterostructures was enhanced by fine-tuning the content of Au and the size of Au NPs. A new photocatalysis mechanism of surface scattering and reflecting (SSR) coupled with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was proposed to understand the enhanced photocatalytic activity.