Hydrothermal Synthesis of Urchin‐like Bi ₂ S ₃ Nanostructures for Superior Visible‐light‐driven Cr(VI) Removal Capacity

Abstract

Abstract In this work, large amounts of urchin‐like Bi 2 S 3 nanostructures assembled from radially oriented nanorods were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The as‐prepared Bi 2 S 3 nanostructures possess an orthorhombic crystal structure with a high crystallinity. More importantly, the obtained Bi 2 S 3 nanostructures are spherical architectures composed of large quantities of nanorods with highly active sites. This attractive architecture can provide a large active surface area for photocatalysis. The photodegradation of Cr(VI) under visible light irradiation indicated that 95% of Cr(VI) was degradated within 30 min using the as‐prepared Bi 2 S 3 nanoparticle as a photocatalyst. Further investigations revealed that the pH value of the solution has a significant effect on the photocatalytic reduction ability as well. Significantly, the kinetic constant of urchin‐like Bi 2 S 3 nanostructures for Cr(VI) degradation is about 100 times that of Bi 2 S 3 nanoflowers and commercial P25. Furthermore, the photocurrent of urchin‐like Bi 2 S 3 nanostructures is still higher than that of Bi 2 S 3 nanoflowers. We believed that the urchin‐like Bi 2 S 3 nanostructures are promising materials for Cr(VI) photoreduction.