Bismuth-modified rectorite with high visible light photocatalytic activity

• The visible light responsive bismuth-modified rectorite was prepared by ultrasonic-assisted method.
• Bismuth-modified rectorite showed strong adsorbility and exhibited an excellent photocatalytic activity.
• OH radicals were the main active specials in the photocatalytic system.

Herein, we reported an ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of bismuth-modified rectorite with high visible light-induced photocatalytic activity. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, FESEM, TEM, BET, and UV–vis DRS techniques. Two toxic and nonbiodegradable organic compounds, Rhodamine B (RhB) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), were chosen as the target pollutants to characterize the adsorption performance and photocatalytic activity. The results showed that the prepared samples possessed strong adsorbility and exhibited high efficient photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. The excellent photocatalytic activity of bismuth-modified rectorite was ascribed to the strong adsorption ability, the interconnected heterojunction of Bi2O3 and Bi5O7NO3, and the produced OH. Finally, the possible mechanism was presented.

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