Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of one-dimensional composite Bi2O3 - Bi2CrO6 Nanowires

Abstract

One-dimensional composite Bi2O3 - Bi 2CrO6 nanowires were successfully fabricated by a simple microwave-assistant hydrothermal method. The successful fabrication of one-dimensional Bi2O3 - Bi2CrO6 nanowires can only be realized at pH value range of 15 of the starting solution. The fabricated nanowires were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS), and photoluminescence (PL), respectively. The diameter of the nanowires varies from 30 to 100 nm; the length is a few micrometers. Methylene blue (MB) solutions were used to evaluate the visible light photocatalytic activities of the fabricated samples. Compared with Bi2O3, the fabricated Bi2O3 - Bi2CrO6 nanowires show enhanced efficiency in oxidization of MB under visible light. © 2012 Qianqian Zhang et al.