Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic properties of Bi12SiO20 powders

The photocatalytic activity of Bi12SiO20 powders prepared with a chemical solution decomposition technique was investigated for the first time. Bi12SiO20 with low specific surface area showed similar high photocatalytic activity to Degussa P25 TiO2 in the degradation of Congo red dye under ultraviolet-visible light irradiation due to the intrinsic oxygen vacancy defects and the widely dispersed valence band. (c) 2006 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.