Solid-state chemical synthesis of rod-like fluorine-doped β-Bi2O3 and their enhanced photocatalytic property under visible light

The pure β-Bi2O3 and fluorine-doped β-Bi2O3 rod-like microstructures were successfully prepared by a facile solid-state chemical reaction process. The composition, structure and morphology of the samples were determined by XRD, EDS, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, XPS and PL. Photocatalytic activities of all samples were investigated via the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under the irradiation of visible light. The fluorine-doped β-Bi2O3 rods exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than the pure β-Bi2O3 rod-like structures and commercial sample. The 82% MO can be degraded by the fluorine-doped β-Bi2O3 rods after irradiation for 2 h under visible light, which is 2-3 times higher than that of counterparts. The enhanced properties of the fluorine-doped samples attribute to their higher separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs and strong oxidation potential of valance band holes. The results show that the as-prepared rod-like fluorine-doped β-Bi2O3 materials are potential candidates for photocatalysts irradiated by visible light.