Increasing visible-light absorption for photocatalysis with black 2D Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheets

In this work, a simple method to prepare defect two-dimension (2D) Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheets material by NaBH4 reduction with Argon atmosphere was reported. The results of EPR and XPS demonstrated that the presence of oxygen vacancy in Bi4Ti3O12, which resulted in color changed and extend photon-absorbance. By comparing to pristine Bi4Ti3O12, the black Bi4Ti3O12 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity to pollutants. The mechanism was also proposed for exploring the defect in the photocatalytic process. (C) 2019 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.