Self-supporting photocatalyst of 2D Bi2O3 anchored on carbon paper for degradation pollutants

Abstract

Two-dimensional vertically aligned Bi₂O₃ nanosheets over carbon paper (CP) were prepared via an in situ growth approach. Bi₂O₃/CP exhibits a robust photocatalytic activity, as well as renewability and flexibility. With Rhodamine B and 2,4-dichlorophenol used as target pollutants, the rate constant of Bi₂O₃/CP was 3.72 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ and 6.93 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ under visible-light irradiation for 2 h, respectively. The improved activity was attributed to the synergistic effects of the hierarchical structure of Bi₂O₃ and the conductive substrate, CP; the former provided efficient catalytic sites for the pollutants and absorbed more of the light scattered among the nanosheets, while the latter is beneficial to the photogenerated electron transfer.