Self-Assembled 3D Flowerlike Bi2O3 Microspheres and Its Visible Light Driven Photocatalytic Activity

A three-dimensional (3D) flowerlike Bi2O3 photocatalyst was synthesized by a simple template-free homogeneous precipitation method at 60℃ for 24 hours. The purpose of this study is to explore for a low cost and simple method... [ view full abstract ]

A three-dimensional (3D) flowerlike Bi2O3 photocatalyst was synthesized by a simple template-free homogeneous precipitation method at 60℃ for 24 hours. The purpose of this study is to explore for a low cost and simple method in synthesizing the self-assembled 3D structural in order to enhance the photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation (λ>420nm). In this study, the morphology, structure and photoabsorption of 3D flowerlike Bi2O3 were characterized, and the effects of the photocatalytic performance were analyzed. The results indicated that the size of the 3D flowerlike hierarchical microspheres was about 2mm to 5mm and composed of several 2D nanosheets. The formation of the hierarchical microspheres has been proposed as the Ostwald ripening process which aid the self-assembled process. The as-obtained samples were then calcined under a different temperature (200℃, 300℃, 400℃, 500℃ and 600℃) to study the effect of calcination towards the structure and how it affects the photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic performance was then evaluated by the decolorization of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible-light irradiation. The 3D flowerlike Bi2O3 structure exhibits a higher catalytic activity than the commercial Bi2O3 which is about 5 to 7 times higher.