Facile synthesis of TiO_2/Bi_2O_3 heterojunctions for the photocatalytic degradation of water contaminants

Semiconductor photocatalysis is n advanced oxidation process for the degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater. tio₂ is an excellent photocatalyst under uv light but it absorbs only a small fraction f visible light. one way in which to extend its light absorption spectra is to couple tio₂ with a narrow band gap semi-conductor like b- bi₂o₃. indeed, the low value of the band gap thus located (2.3 ev) means that they can absorb a greater part of the visible light than the titanium dioxide alone. the aim of this work is to optimize the facile synthesis of b-bi₂o₃/tio₂-p25 heterojunctions and to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the prepared composites in regard to the photodegradation of orange ii under visible and uv light.