Photo-synergistic promoted in situ generation of Bi0–BiSbO4 nanostructures as an efficient catalyst for nitrobenzene reduction

Abstract

This work reports on the synthesis of BiSbO₄ micro-flowers by a facile hydrothermal method. All as-prepared samples were carefully characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. TEM and XPS results indicated that partial Bi³⁺ ions in BiSbO₄ nanoparticles were in situ converted into metallic bismuth to form Bi⁰–BiSbO₄ nanostructures in the presence of NaBH₄ during the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The as-prepared Bi⁰–BiSbO₄ was found to be an efficient, renewable and green noble metal free catalyst toward catalytic reduction of nitrobenzenes. Moreover, UV light can promote the reduction of Bi³⁺ to metallic bismuth, which can robustly and photo-synergistically accelerate the apparent reaction rate for catalytic reduction of nitrobenzenes into aminobenzenes. The in situ generation of Bi⁰–BiSbO₄ nanostructures may provide new possibilities for the development of novel bismuth-based systems for catalytic applications.