Synthesis of flower-like, pinon-like and faceted nanoplates (BiO)₂CO₃ micro/nanostructures with morphology-dependent photocatalytic activity

The flower-like, pinon-like and faceted nanoplates (BiO)₂CO₃ micro/nanostructures were fabricated by a one-pot template-free method based on hydrothermal treatment of the aqueous mixture of bismuth citrate and sodium carbonate. The morphology of (BiO)₂CO₃ can be simply controlled by the reaction temperature. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflection spectra, and photoluminescence spectra were applied to analyze the microstructures and properties of the samples. The flower-like and pinon-like (BiO)₂CO₃ superstructures were hierarchically self-assembled by nanoplates and showed increased light absorption owing to the multiple light reflection between the nanoplates. The thickness of nanoplates was increased with the increasing reaction temperatures due to the preferred growth along the (110) plane. The (BiO)₂CO₃ with various micro/nanostructures showed morphology-dependent photocatalytic activity toward removal of aqueous RhB. The as-prepared flower-like (BiO)₂CO₃ microspheres exhibited highest photocatalytic activity due to the large surface area, increased light absorption, enhanced charge carriers separation, and special architectures of hierarchical nanoplates microspheres, exceeding that of the P25. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.