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Chinese Journal of Materials Research  2026, Vol. 40 Issue (5): 343-351    DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2025.380
Special Section on Photocatalysis Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Synthesis and Photocatalytic Performance of Bi/Bi2O2CO3
QU Mengyuan, YOU Kangwei, XIE Liyan(), WANG Yaxin, LUO Zhishan, HUANG Jianhui
College of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecological Impacts and Treatment Technologies for Emerging Contaminants, Key Laboratory of Ecological Environment and Information Atlas, Fujian Provincial University, Putian University, Putian 351100, China
Cite this article: 

QU Mengyuan, YOU Kangwei, XIE Liyan, WANG Yaxin, LUO Zhishan, HUANG Jianhui. Synthesis and Photocatalytic Performance of Bi/Bi2O2CO3. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(5): 343-351.

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Abstract  

Bismuth nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized in-situ on Bi2O2CO3 nanosh-eets through a one-pot hydrothermal method employing paraformaldehyde as a dual carbon source and reducing agent. The Bi/Bi2O2CO3 hybrids were comprehensively analyzed using XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS, with their optical characteristics investigated via UV-Vis DRS. Their photocatalytic efficacy was assessed by decomposing malachite green (MG) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) as target contaminants. The results indicate uniform dispersion of Bi NPs on Bi2O2CO3, with adjustable loading content by modulating the ratio of Bi precursor to paraformaldehyde. The most effective composite Bi/Bi2O2CO3 with mass ratio of 1:10 displayed significantly improved photocatalytic performance, exhibiting reaction rates 3.5 and 19.7 times higher than pure Bi2O2CO3 and pristine Bi powder, respectively. This enhancement is ascribed to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of metallic Bi and the developed Bi/Bi2O2CO3 heterojunction, which collectively enhance visible-light absorption, facilitate the charge separation and transfer, and inhibit the electron-hole recombination. Additionally, ESR and trapping experiments confirmed that the increased generation of O2- radicals and OH radicals play a pivotal role in the degradation mechanism.

Key words:  composite      photocatalytic performance      hydrothermal method      Bi/Bi2O2CO3     
Received:  23 December 2025     
ZTFLH:  O643.36  
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(22472080);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22102030);Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province(2023J011003);Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province(2023J05196);Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province(2024J01881);Open Project Program of the State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment(SKLPEE-KF202315);Startup Fund for Advanced Talents of Putian University(2022052);Putian University Graduate Research Innovation Project(YJS2024022);Science and Technology Plan Project of Putian(2023GJGZ001)
Corresponding Authors:  XIE Liyan, Tel: (0594)2696445, E-mail: 103382949@qq.com

URL: 

https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2025.380     OR     https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I5/343

Fig.1  XRD patterns of BOC and Bi/Bi2O2CO3 composites
Fig.2  SEM images of BOC (a, b) and Bi/BOC-1 (c, d)
Fig.3  TEM images (a, b), HRTEM image (c), and SAED pattern (d) of Bi/BOC-1
Fig.4  UV-Vis diffuse-reflectance spectra of the as-synthesized samples
Fig. 5  XPS survey spectrum of Bi/BOC-1 (a), and high-resolution spectra of Bi 4f (b), O 1s (c), and C 1s (d)
Fig.6  Activities of as-prepared samples for the degradation of MG (a) and CIP (c), and plots of -ln(C/C0) vs. time (b, d)
Fig.7  Cycling runs of photocatalytic degradation of CIP over Bi/BOC-1
CatalystsSynthesis methodReducing agentTarget pollutantRate constantk / min⁻¹Source
Bi/BOC-1Hydrothermal methodPolyoxymethylene (Bifunctional)MG0.085This work
Bi/BOC-1Hydrothermal methodPolyoxymethylene (Bifunctional)CIP0.046This work
Bi/Bi2O2CO3Solvothermal methodFormamideRhB0.090[27]
Bi/Bi2O2CO3Hydrothermal methodDMFBPA0.028[28]
Bi/BiOI/Bi2O2CO3Room temperature assemblyNaBH₄NO(gaseous phase)-[29]
Bi/Bi2O2CO3Hydrothermal methodThioureaNO(gaseous phase)0.045[30]
Bi/Bi2O2CO3Solvothermal methodMethanolHydrogen production81.5 μmol/(g·h)[31]
Bi/BiOF/Bi2O2CO3Hdydrothermal methodEthylene glycolCIP0.062[32]
Table 1  Comparison of photocatalytic performance of Bi/Bi2O2CO3-based materials prepared via different synthesis strategies
Fig.8  Transient photocurrent response (a) and Nyquist plots (b) of the as-prepared samples
Fig.9  Solid-state photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the as-synthesized samples
Fig.10  Degradation of MG by Bi/BOC-1 sample under different capturing agent conditions
Fig.11  Electron spin trapping resonance spectra of DMPO-O2- (a) and DMPO-·OH (b) in the sample
Fig.12  Schematic diagram of separation of electron-hole pairs over Bi/Bi2O2CO3 composites under visible light
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