Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of Ag-Ti-Si ternary modified α-Bi2O3 nanoporous spheres

Ag-Ti-Si ternary modified alpha-Bi2O3 nanoporous spheres (TMBS) were prepared via a solvothermal method, and were characterized by SEM, XRD, N-2-sorption and DRS. The particle diameters of TMBS were 500-600 nm and the pore sizes were 20-30 nm. The band gap energy of TMBS was estimated to be 2.51-2.72 eV. TMBS exhibited high photocatalytic activity on the degradation of triclosan (TCS) under UV-light and visible light irradiation (> 420 nm). The optimized apparent rate of TCS by TMBS was 0.176 min(-1) under UV-light, five times that of TiO2 (P25). By electron spin resonance (ESR) trapping, the photocatalysis mechanism of TCS was ascribed to the photo-generated singlet oxygen (O-1(2)) or superoxide ion (O-2(-)). (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.