Microwave-assisted aging synthesis of bismuth modified zeolite-P microspheres via BiOCl nanoflake transformation

In this article, microwave-assisted aging (MAA) prior to the conventional hydrothermal treatment was applied in the transformation of bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) precursors to the bismuth modified zeolite-P (Bi-ZP) microspheres. In a fixed microwave irradiation time of 1 h and different hydrothermal reaction time of 0, 24, 48, 96 and 144 h, the evolution of the final products was followed using the X-ray power diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques. Results indicated an acceleration in the formation process of the Bi-ZP from 6 days conventional hydrothermal synthesis (CHS) down to 1 day MAA. Also, applying only 1 h microwave irradiation led to the formation of the uniform BiOCl nanoflakes with average thickness of about 45 nm. In addition, the results revealed that the CHS is a crucial step toward the successful synthesis of the Bi-ZP. Following the morphology evolution of the MAA-Bi-ZP in the FE-SEM images illustrates the formation of the well-defined microspheres in 144 h of MAA. The final product was then characterized by diffuse reflectance UV–vis and FT-IR spectroscopy, as well as N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm and the Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) curve.

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► Synthesis of well-defined MAA-Bi-ZP microspheres via BiOCl nanoflake transformation.
► Synthesis process acceleration from 6 days down to 1 day by means of microwave.
► Structure and morphology evolution investigation of MAA-Bi-ZP using XRD and FE-SEM.