Molten-salt growth of Bi5FeTi3O15-based composite to dramatically boost photocatalytic performance

Abstract Bi5FeTi3O15-based composite was successfully synthesized via a molten-salt growth path, and the Bi5FeTi3O15-based composite synthesized by molten salt method (BFTO-M) was involved in photocatalytic system for the first time. For comparison, the Bi5FeTi3O15 samples synthesized by hydrothermal process and solid state reaction method (BFTO-H and BFTO-S) were prepared. The BFTO-M exhibited a typical morphology of nanosheets, and possessed higher carrier separation efficiency relative to BFTO-H and BFTO-S. XRD results indicated that the as-obtained BFTO-M sample was a composite composed of BiOCl, Bi5FeTi3O15 and Bi2O2.75. RhB could hardly be degraded in BFTO-H or BFTO-S reaction system, while RhB was dramatically degraded in BFTO-M reaction system with the degradation efficiency of 95.8%. A possible visible-light driven catalytic mechanism was exposed.