Novel Synthesis Method of Sheet-like Agglomerates β-Bi₂O₃ with High Photocatalytic Activity

Sheet-like agglomerates -Bi 2 O 3 were synthesized via an extraction-precipitation stripping-decomposition method using a leaching solution of bismuthinite as raw materials in acidic chloride media. Phase form of as-prepared Bi 2 O 3 was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and its morphology was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Moreover, photocatalytic activity of the -Bi 2 O 3 was evaluated by measuring the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the powders consisted of nanoflakes. The -Bi 2 O 3 exhibited a smaller band gap energy and larger absorbance edge than -Bi 2 O 3 and reported -Bi 2 O 3 . In addition, 99.23% of the RhB was degraded under 4 h visible light irradiation and -Bi 2 O 3 was a fairly stable photocatalyst under the experimental conditions.