Synthesis of Bi2S3 microsphere and its efficient photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation
(1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
2. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Efficient and Clean Utilization of Manganese Resources, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
3. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
4. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China)
2. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Efficient and Clean Utilization of Manganese Resources, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
3. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
4. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China)
Abstract: A novel Bi2S3 microsphere was fabricated through one-pot urea-assisted solvothermal method. The synthesized Bi2S3 microsphere was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermal gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis (DTA-TG). Subsequently, the photocatalytic performances of Bi2S3 microsphere were evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) simulation solution under visible-light irradiation. The results show that, Bi2S3 microsphere could be used as a potential cost-efficient catalysis for eliminating of methyl orange from aqueous solutions, whose degradation rate could reach 91.07% within 180 min. Besides, a tentative photocatalytic reaction mechanism was discussed according to the energy band position. Therefore, this work indicated a simplistic approach for the fabrication of visible-light responsive Bi2S3 microsphere photocatalyst, which can be used as a valuable candidate in solar energy conversion and environment pollution treatment.
Key words: Bi2S3 microsphere; hydrothermal methods; photocatalytic degradation