Shape-Dependent Photocatalytic Activities of Bismuth Subcarbonate Nanostructures

Different shaped bismuth subcarbonate ((BiO)₂CO₃) nanostructures including irregular nanoplates, relatively uniform nanoplates and nanocubes were prepared and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) and nitrogen adsorption. The photocatalytic performance of the as-synthesized (BiO)₂CO₃ nanostructures on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and methyl blue (MB) were evaluated under UV-vis light irradiation (modeling sunlight). The photocatalysis tests showed that all the different (BiO)₂CO₃ nanostructures displayed enhanced photodegradation performance compared with commercial (BiO)₂CO₃. The irregular (BiO)₂CO₃ nanoplates exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity on the degradation of different organic dyes. (BiO)₂CO₃ nanosturctures exhibited the different capacity to bleach the three organic dyes, which might be attributed to their different molecular structures. This work may provide a potential photocatalyst for the environmental pollutants treatments.