B-doped BiOBr photocatalysts were successfully synthesized via a facile solvothermal method with boric acid used as boron source. As-obtained products consist of novel hierarchical microspheres, whose nanosheet building units were formed by nanoparticles splicing. They showed dramatic photocatalytic efficiency toward the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol under the visible-light irradiation and the highest activity was achieved by 0.075B-BiOBr. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the enriched surface hydroxyl groups on B-doped BiOBr samples, which not only improved the adsorption of pollutant on the photocatalyst but also promoted the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In addition, it was found that the main reactive species responsible for the degradation of organic pollutant were h(+) and O-center dot(2)- radicals, instead of (OH)-O-center dot radicals. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.