Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange using α-Bi2O3 prepared without surfactant

Bismuth oxide is prepared by a gel to crystalline conversion technique without using any surfactant. The sample calcined at two different temperatures (600 and 700 degrees C) contains only stable monoclinic phase with the variation in crystallinity. The degradation efficiency varies with the calcination temperature and is maximum for the higher crystallinity one (600 degrees C) having larger surface area. The optical band gap value of 2.7344(9) eV also supported that bismuth oxide is used as a visible light photocatalyst. From the photocatalytic degradation experiment it is found that the pseudo second order equation fits well for the whole range of study with higher correlation coefficient. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.