Synthesis of Bi2S3 microsphere and its efficient photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation

A novel Bi2S3 microsphere was fabricated through one-pot urea-assisted solvothermal method. The synthesized Bi2S3 microsphere was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermal gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis (DTA-TG). Subsequently, the photocatalytic performances of Bi2S3 microsphere were evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) simulation solution under visible-light irradiation. The results show that, Bi2S3 microsphere could be used as a potential cost-efficient catalysis for eliminating of methyl orange from aqueous solutions, whose degradation rate could reach 91.07% within 180 min. Besides, a tentative photocatalytic reaction mechanism was discussed according to the energy band position. Therefore, this work indicated a simplistic approach for the fabrication of visible-light responsive Bi2S3 microsphere photocatalyst, which can be used as a valuable candidate in solar energy conversion and environment pollution treatment.