Efficient Photodegradation of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals with Bi2O3-ZnO Nanorods Under a Compact Fluorescent Lamp

Nanoscaled Bi2O3 particles coated on ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) have been fabricated by combining hydrothermal technique with a chemical precipitation method. X-ray diffraction, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence studies were adapted to characterize the structure, morphologies, and optical properties of the nanocomposites. The results indicated that small Bi2O3 nanoparticles were well distributed on the surfaces of ZNRs. And the Bi2O3-ZNR nanocomposites showed high charge separation efficiency and center dot OH generation ability as evidenced by photoluminescence spectra. Under irradiation of a 55-W compact fluorescent lamp, the Bi2O3-ZNR nanocomposites demonstrated photocatalytic activities higher than pure ZNRs in the degradation of two endocrine-disrupting chemicals, phenol and methylparaben, which might be attributed to the high separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs based on the cooperative role of Bi2O3 loading on ZNRs. Moreover, the Bi2O3-ZNR nanocomposite could be easily recovered and reused due to their one-dimensional nanostructural property. All these characteristics brought enormous benefits of Bi2O3-ZNR nanocomposites to the practical application in indoor environmental remediation.