Synthesis, characterization and visible-light photocatalytic activity of Bi24Al2O39 mesoporous hollow spheres

Abstract

Bi₂₄Al₂O₃₉ mesoporous hollow spheres were successfully prepared using carbonaceous polysaccharide microspheres as sacrificial cores. The Bi₂₄Al₂O₃₉ samples have a spherical morphology with an average diameter of 4 μm. The addition of citric acid played a crucial role in the formation of the Bi₂₄Al₂O₃₉ mesoporous hollow spheres. A possible growth mechanism of these spheres has been proposed based on the experimental results. The photocatalytic degradation results indicate that the Bi₂₄Al₂O₃₉ mesoporous hollow spheres exhibited good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of acid red G (ARG) and gaseous formaldehyde under visible-light irradiation. Finally, the radical species involved in the photocatalytic degradation process have been investigated.