PRECURSORS-DECOMPOSITED SYNTHESIS AND VISIBLE-LIGHT-RESPONSE PHOTOCATALYSTIC PROPERTIES OF UNIFORM POROUS Bi2O3 NANOSPHERES

The Bi 2 O 3 sphere-like precursors were first synthesized through a simple hydrothermal reaction in the mixture of sodium cholate (SC) and hydrogen peroxide. Thermal decomposition of these precursors would result in the formation of the uniform porous Bi 2 O 3 nanospheres with diameters of ca. 80 nm in air at 500°C. The amount of added H 2 O 2 and the reaction time were found to play important roles in the formation of Bi 2 O 3 sphere-like precursors. The as-prepared porous Bi 2 O 3 nanospheres exhibited a very excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B (RB) and methyl blue (MB) dyes under visible-light irradiation, which could be attributed to their narrow band gap and high surface area.