Simple hydrothermal preparation of novel Bi2O3/PANI heterojunction with significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity and stability

In this work, the bismuth oxide/polyaniline (Bi2O3/PANI) heterojunction as a visible light photocatalyst was successfully prepared via a simple hydrothermal synthesis method. The microstructure and properties of the synthesized photocatalyst were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS, respectively. The close bonding between Bi2O3 and PANI facilitated the rapid separation and transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes, and the photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation was significantly improved. The degradation kinetic reaction rate constant of Bi2O3/PANI was 31.46 times higher than that of Bi2O3, and the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) was as high as 96.4%, and it can still maintain high photocatalytic activity after the fifth run. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism of Bi2O3/PANI was proposed. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The bismuth oxide/polyaniline (Bi2O3/PANI) heterojunction was successfully prepared as a visible light photocatalyst, significantly improving photocatalytic performance and degradation rate compared to Bi2O3 alone. The stable and sustainable photocatalytic activity of Bi2O3/PANI was demonstrated through multiple runs.