Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (5): 1033-1042.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201702101

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Facile Green Synthesis of Highly Monodisperse Bismuth Subcarbonate Micropompons Self-assembled by Nanosheets: Improved Photocatalytic Performance

Mao-Mao RUAN1,Le-Xin SONG1,*(),Qing-Shan WANG1,*(),Juan XIA2,Zun YANG1,Yue TENG1,Zhe-Yuan XU1   

  1. 1 Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, P. R. China
    2 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Fuyang Normal College, Fuyang 236037, Anhui Province, P. R. China
  • Received:2016-11-11 Published:2017-04-20
  • Contact: Le-Xin SONG,Qing-Shan WANG E-mail:solexin@ustc.edu.cn;wqs056@mail.ustc.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province, China(1508085MB30);Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China(WK2060190052);Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China(WK6030000017)

Abstract:

This work reports a controlled green synthesis of highly monodisperse bismuth subcarbonate (BS) micropompons self-assembled by nanosheets using a simple and facile hydrothermal route in which deionized water, bismuth nitrate pentahydrate (BNP), and urea were used as the solvent, bismuth source, and carbon source respectively. Trisodium citrate dihydrate (TCD) was used as a coordination agent to fabricate a complex precursor. The structure and morphology of the BS materials can be finely modulated by adjusting the initial concentration ratios of the reactants or the reaction time. The presence of TCD decreased the formation rate of BS due to a direct competitive interaction for the BiO+ ions between a coordination equilibrium and a precipitation equilibrium. Urea played a crucial role (e.g., carbon source, alkaline source, morphology control agent, and crystal growth control agent) in the formation of the BS microstructures. We obtained three kinds of BS crystals with preferred orientations along [001], [110], and [013] by adjusting the concentration of urea. Our synthesis approach has the advantages of low cost, high reaction yields, monodisperse particles, controlled morphologies and orientations, and not requiring the use of organic solvents, templates, surfactants, high phototemperatures, and long reaction times. Particularly, when compared with those reported by other investigators, the micropompon material exhibited improved photocatalytic performance for Rhodamine B due to a unique microstructure (large specific surface area, high efficiency of photoelectric conversion, small interfacial chargetransfer resistance, and active {001} exposed facets). These results indicate a major advance in the controlled green synthesis and the application of inorganic micro-and nano-materials.

Key words: Bismuth subcarbonate, Controlled green synthesis, Photocatalytic performance, Micropompons, Trisodium citrate dihydrate