Enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange by Bi₂O₃/F–TiO₂composites

Abstract

Bi2O3/F–TiO2 composites were successfully synthesized via an aqueous precipitation method. Their morphologies, structures and photocatalytic performance in the degradation of methyl orange (MO) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results show that the Bi2O3/F–TiO2 composites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic performance in the degradation of MO with a maximum degradation rate of 95% under visible light irradiation for 180 min, which is mainly ascribed to the increase in light adsorption and the reduction in electron–hole pair recombination in Bi2O3 with the introduction of F–TiO2.