Visible Light Photocatalytic Properties of Metastable γ-Bi2O3 with Different Morphologies

The metastable γ-Bi2O3 photocatalysts with different morphologies were fabricated by means of a chemical precipitation method. The microstructure of as-prepared samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet-visible diffusion reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of Bi2O3 powder was evaluated using rhodamine B as a model pollutant under visible light irradiation. The visible light photocatalytic activity of Bi2O3 with different morphologies is as follows, nanorod > nanorod/nanoflake > N doped TiO2 > irregular particle > agglomerated particle. The γ-Bi2O3 shows the best photocatalytic performance and it can effectively degrade 97% RhB within 60 min.