A facile synthesis of a highly efficient β-Bi2O3/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic NO oxidation under visible light

Abstract

The construction of a β-Bi₂O₃/Bi₂O₂CO₃ heterojunction is an effective approach to separate the photogenerated charge carriers and to improve the photocatalytic performance of the semiconductor photocatalysts. In this study, a composite nanosheet of β-Bi₂O₃/Bi₂O₂CO₃ was fabricated via an in situ annealing of Bi₂O₂CO₃ at 380 °C. The composite showed an excellent adsorption toward NO and an enhanced photocatalytic efficiency over NO oxidation from 5.7 v/v% (bare Bi₂O₂CO₃) to 32.5 v/v% (β-Bi₂O₃/Bi₂O₂CO₃). Furthermore, the presence of the β-Bi₂O₃/Bi₂O₂CO₃ heterojunction promoted the formation of additional ˙O₂⁻, and then improved the NO oxidation activity and safety of BOC in conjunction with ˙OH.