Facile two-step hydrothermal synthesis of a novel visible-light photocatalyst made from Bi2O3 modified by 4-Bromothiophenol

A novel photocatalyst of Bi2O3 modified by 4-Bromothiophenol was first prepared via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, EDS, PL and UV-vis, respectively. It can be observed that the new photocatalyst made from Bi2O3 modified by 4-Bromothiophenol exhibited a fiber-shaped structure, and its crystalline phase didn't change by adding 4-Bromothiophenol, but its photocatalytic property was tremendously improved. The highly photocatalytic activity of this novel photocatalyst was tested by degradation of malachite green (MG) with its initial concentration of 35 mg L−1, and the result showed that the MG degradation rate up to 99.4% after irradiation for 80 min.