A facile hydrothermal method to BiSbO4 nanoplates with superior photocatalytic performance for benzene and 4-chlorophenol degradations

Abstract

BiSbO₄ nanoplates with a large BET specific area has been prepared successfully via a facile hydrothermal reaction from Sb₂O₃ and Bi(NO₃)₃. The effects of reaction conditions and the precursors on the final products were investigated. It is proposed that the redox reaction between Sb₂O₃ and Bi(NO₃)₃ plays a pivotal role in the formation of nanocrystalline BiSbO₄. The hydrothermally prepared nanocrystalline BiSbO₄ was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂-sorption BET surface area, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The DRS result clarifies that BiSbO₄, originally believed to be a visible light responsive photocatalyst, is indeed UV light responsive with a band gap of 3.5 eV. The existence of Bi containing an impurity may be responsible for the visible light response of BiSbO₄ prepared via a conventional solid state reaction. BiSbO₄ nanoplates prepared via the hydrothermal method showed superior photocatalytic performance for the degradation of benzene and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) as compared to BiSbO₄ prepared via a solid state reaction and Degussa P25. BiSbO_4(Hy) nanoplates can be a promising photocatalyst in the treatment of environmental pollution.