Strong blue photoluminescence from single-crystalline bismuth oxychloride nanoplates

Single-crystalline bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) nanoplates with in-plane sizes of 200-500 nm and a thickness of 15-25 nm are synthesized by a simple solution route. Strong blue photoluminescence centred at 455 nm (∼2.72 eV) with very high quantum yields (Φ(PL)∼0.4) has been observed at room temperature, representing the first report of strong room temperature photoluminescence from bismuth oxyhalide nanomaterials. It is envisaged that bismuth oxychloride could join the family of non-cadmium based high-efficiency emitters; it has promising applications in various fields, especially in light emitting diodes, lasers and solar cells.