Hierarchical Bi2CuO4 microspheres: Hydrothermal synthesis and catalytic performance in wet oxidation of methylene blue

We present a facile but efficient template-free hydrothermal synthetic method to prepare the hierarchical assembly of Bi2CuO4 microspheres constructed with nanorods at low temperature of 80 degrees C for 12 h. The as-prepared Bi2CuO4 samples were characterized by means of XRPD, FESEM and XPS techniques. The experimental results reveal that the reaction temperature and the Cu(NO3)(2)-to-NaOH mole ratio have important roles in the formation of pure phase Bi2CuO4 samples. Further experiments show that the as-prepared Bi2CuO4 samples have the excellent catalytic efficiency on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in the presence of H2O2 via a heterogeneous catalytic wet oxidation route. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.