Plasmonic Bi metal as cocatalyst and photocatalyst: The case of Bi/(BiO)2CO3 and Bi particles

Yanjuan Sun; Zaiwang Zhao; Wendong Zhang; Chunfeng Gao; Yuxin Zhang; Fan Dong

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2016.09.018

Plasmonic Bi metal as cocatalyst and photocatalyst: The case of Bi/(BiO)₂CO₃ and Bi particles

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2017 Jan 1:485:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.09.018. Epub 2016 Sep 12.

Authors

Yanjuan Sun¹, Zaiwang Zhao¹, Wendong Zhang², Chunfeng Gao¹, Yuxin Zhang³, Fan Dong⁴

Affiliations

¹ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Functional Organic Molecules, Engineering Research Center for Waste Oil Recovery Technology and Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Resources, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing 400067, China.
² Department of Scientific Research Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China.
³ College of Materials Science and Engineering, National Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science of Micro/Nano-Devices and System Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
⁴ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Functional Organic Molecules, Engineering Research Center for Waste Oil Recovery Technology and Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Resources, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing 400067, China. Electronic address: dfctbu@126.com.

PMID: 27639168
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2016.09.018

Abstract

Semimetal bismuth with plasmonic properties has triggered increased interests. In this work, a facile strategy was developed to synthesize the Bi/(BiO)₂CO₃ (Bi-BOC) nanocomposites and Bi elemental photocatalysts. The Bi nanoparticles were produced via the insitu reduction of (BiO)₂CO₃ by NaBH₄. The catalysts were utilized for the photocatalytic NO removal under visible light and UV illumination. Significantly, the photocatalytic capability of the Bi-BOC was highly enhanced with an unprecedented NO removal of 63.6%. The Bi metal demonstrated a direct plasmonic photocatalytic NO removal ratio of 53.6% under UV irradiation. The significantly enhanced photocatalytic capability of Bi-BOC can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of the SPR effect, enhanced visible-light-harvesting and the efficient electron-hole separation induced by Bi nanoparticles. The Bi nanoparticles can perform as a non-noble metal-based plasmonic cocatalyst for advancing photocatalytic ability. The mechanism of photocatalytic NO oxidation was proposed and compared under both visible light and UV illumination. Furthermore, the Bi-BOC photocatalysts showed good photochemical stability under repeated tests. This work could not only offer new insights into in-situ fine-tune reduction strategy for Bi-based photocatalysts, but also proves the potentials of utilizing low cost Bi cocatalysts as a substitute for noble metals to improve other photocatalysts.

Keywords: (BiO)(2)CO(3) microspheres; NO purification; Photocatalysis; Plasmonic Bi metal; SPR effect.