The Department of Chemistry at the University of Basrah conducted a master thesis defense entitled" Preparation of oxyhalogen compounds for Bismuth and zinc oxychloride and study of their photocatalytic properties", presented by Batool KhairAllah Hashim. The scientist has explained that Bismuth oxyhalogen compounds (BiOX, X=Cl,Br,I) and ZnOCl were prepared and identified by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis(EDX).
The photocatalytic behavior was studying by changing the effect of the weight of the catalyst, pH, the temperature and the initial concentration of the dye Indigo Carmine.Using UV lamp, the pH effect was the best factor that used to remove the dye for all the compounds.   
 The percentage of removal of BiOX compounds reaches 90% within 75 minutes in the alkaline medium.  The recommendations were many, including the use of other lamps for the purpose of photocatalysis and the use of these compounds to remove ions polluting water, as well as the importance of photocatalysis to reduce pollution of the aquatic environment.