Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2016, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (6): 780-791.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(15)61061-0

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Recent advances in bismuth-containing photocatalysts with heterojunctions

Lang Chen, Jie He, Ying Liu, Peng Chen, Chak-Tong Au, Shuang-Feng Yin   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, Hunan, China
  • Received:2016-01-19 Revised:2016-02-20 Online:2016-05-30 Published:2016-05-30
  • Contact: Shuang-Feng Yin
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21401054, 21476065), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014M562098), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Abstract:

Photocatalysis has received much attention owing to current energy and environmental crises. The use of an appropriate photocatalyst is important to a photocatalytic process. The development of photocatalysts that absorb light over a wide range of wavelengths and efficiently separate charge carriers remains a challenge and hot research topic. With strong visible-light-absorption ability, bismuth-containing photocatalysts are of great interest to scientists. However, measures have to be taken to enhance the light absorption efficiency and to lessen the problem of the recombination of charge carriers. Known approaches are the formation of heterojunctions through (1) loading of a noble metal, (2) semiconductor combination, (3) metal and nonmetal doping, (4) carbon-based material modification, and (5) Bi metal loading. The present review summarizes recent advances in this respect. Finally, the future development and potential applications of bismuth-containing photocatalysts with heterojunctions are briefly discussed.

Key words: Photocatalysis, Bismuth, Heterojunction, Visible light