Addition of bismuth subacetate into bismuth citrate as co-precursors to improve the photocatalytic performance of Bi2O3

By adding bismuth subacetate (CH3COO(BiO), BiOAc) to bismuth citrate with optimal molar ratio of 1:3 and calcining at 350 degrees C in air, the resulted nanoparticle-based hollow spherical beta-Bi2O3 (H-beta-Bi2O3) exhibited greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity in comparison with nanosheet-based spherical beta-Bi2O3 (S-beta-Bi2O3) obtained from pure bismuth citrate. The degradation efficiency of rhodamine B (RhB) and malachite green (MG) was increased from 54.0% and 53.1% of S-beta-Bi2O3 to 91.2% and 94.6% of H-beta-Bi2O3 within 3 h of visible light irradiation, respectively. The improved photocatalytic performance of H-beta-Bi2O3 could be attributed to the enhanced light absorption and charge migration efficiency due to the presence of residual carbon and metal Bi, as well as higher surface area of hollow microstructure. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.