Loess Particles Loaded Petaloid Bi2S3 Nanowires for Highly Efficient Photodegradation of Dyes under Sunlight

Abstract

In this paper, using loess particles (LoP), a kind of extremely common and inexpensive natural silicate particles with metastable structure, as inorganic carrier, the petaloid Bi₂S₃ nanowires were loaded by in-situ depositing, which afforded loess particles loaded petaloid Bi₂S₃ nanowires (PBiNw@LoP) with one-step hydrothermal procedure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and adsorption-desorption isotherms of N₂ were employed to characterize the prepared composite photocatalyst. The results showed that the petaloid Bi₂S₃ nanowires are evenly dispersed on the loose surface of loess particles. The photocatalytic activity of PBiNw@LoP was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) irradiated with sunlight. It demonstrated PBiNw@LoP exhibited the superior photocatalytic performance, and the photocatalytic degradation rate got to 99.50%. The petaloid Bi₂S₃ nanowires with larger specific surface helps to absorb light, while the loose surface of loess with certain adsorption capacity. Therefore, the photocatalytic activity have been improved by the synergistic effect in photodegradation of dyes, while the ratio of Bi₂S₃ in catalyst was decreased without affecting the photodegradation performance. In conclusion, a cheap and efficient photocatalyst has been successfully prepared for the degradation of dye wastewater.