Facile Synthesis of BiOI Nanoparticles at Room Temperature and Evaluation of their Photoactivity Under Sunlight Irradiation

Abstract

In this study, highly photoactive BiOI nanoparticles (NPs) under sunlight irradiation were synthesized by a facile precipitation method using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at room temperature. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transition electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS). The results of XRD showed that PVP did not have any significant effect on tetragonal crystalline structure of BiOI. Also, using different amounts of PVP in the synthesis led to different morphologies and sizes of BiOI particles. It was found that using 0.2 g of PVP in the synthesis method changed morphology from 1-μm platelets to NPs with size under 10 nm. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of prepared photocatalysts was evaluated in the photodegradation of reactive blue 19 (RB19) dye under sunlight irradiation. The BiOI synthesized using 0.2 g PVP (BiOI0.2) showed higher degradation efficiency compared to BiOI prepared without any additive. Excellent visible light photocatalytic properties of nano-scaled BiOI0.2 samples compared to BiOI platelets could be attributed to higher surface-to-volume ratio and narrow band-gap energy of as-prepared BiOI0.2 NPs.

Investigation of photodegradation of rhodamine B over a BiOX (X = Cl, Br and I) photocatalyst under white LED irradiation

“…The observed bands in the range of 2870-2960 cm −1 can be ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of C-H bonds [27,28]. Moreover, the absorption band at around 3430 cm −1 is attributed to the stretching vibration of O-H groups of adsorbed water molecules [27]. Therefore, the FT-IR results confirm the interaction of PVP and BiOX samples.…”

“…The characteristic absorption bands at about 526, 518 and 516 cm −1 for BiOCl, BiOBr and BiOI, respectively, correspond to the symmetric vibration of the Bi-O bond. In all of the spectra, the bands around 1286, 1432 and ∼ 1640 cm −1 are attributed to the C-N, C=C and C=O bonds, respectively [27,28]. The observed bands in the range of 2870-2960 cm −1 can be ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of C-H bonds [27,28].…”

“…In all of the spectra, the bands around 1286, 1432 and ∼ 1640 cm −1 are attributed to the C-N, C=C and C=O bonds, respectively [27,28]. The observed bands in the range of 2870-2960 cm −1 can be ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of C-H bonds [27,28]. Moreover, the absorption band at around 3430 cm −1 is attributed to the stretching vibration of O-H groups of adsorbed water molecules [27].…”

A readily synthesized bismuth oxyiodide/attapulgite for the photodegradation of tetracycline under visible light irradiation

“…41 For BiOI, the regions at 460 cm −1 are related to the vibration of Bi-O bonds. 42 Raman spectra were recorded to identify more information about the surface structure of the as-prepared BiOI and BIA-x, and the results are demonstrated in Fig. 1(c).…”

Facile precipitation synthesis of extraordinary visible‐light‐driven BiOXs photocatalyst

“…BiOX materials are prepared by various procedures, such as microwave-assisted technique [11], sono-chemical process [12], combustion synthesis [13], simple hydrolysis [14], solvothermal route [15], precipitation method [16] etc. Precipitation method [17][18][19] offers several advantages, such as relatively lower temperature, ambient pressure, and shorter reaction time with the most frequently used solvothermal method.…”