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Facile Template‐Free Synthesis of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 Hierarchical Microflowers and Their Associated Photocatalytic Activity
Author(s) -
Cheng Hefeng,
Huang Baibiao,
Yang Kesong,
Wang Zeyan,
Qin Xiaoyan,
Zhang Xiaoyang,
Dai Ying
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.200901017
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , materials science , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , catalysis , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Hierarchical Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 flowerlike microstructures have been synthesized for the first time using a facile, template‐free, and low‐temperature solution method. With an average diameter of about 3 μm, the as‐prepared Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 microflowers are composed of numerous two‐dimensional nanosheets with oriented terminal engagement. On the basis of electron microscopy observations, a plausible growth mechanism is proposed as a spatial self‐assembly process accompanied by Ostwald ripening. The molar ratio of the initial reagents plays an important role in determining the morphologies of the Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 microstructures. UV/Vis spectroscopy is employed to analyze the band gaps of the products. Both mesopores and macropores are revealed in the Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 microflowers by means of nitrogen sorption and pore‐size distribution. Moreover, evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange under UV illumination, the photocatalytic performance of the Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 hierarchical microflowers is almost six times higher than that of commercial Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 . The higher specific surface area, the meso/macropores, and the intra‐electric field formed between the (Bi 2 O 2 ) 2+ layer and the slabs comprising CO 3 2− in the Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 crystal structure, are believed to facilitate the separation of the photoinduced electrons and holes and thus improve the corresponding photocatalytic activity.