Bi₅ O₇ I Nanobelts: Synthesis, Modification, and Photocatalytic Antifouling Activity

Bi₅ O₇ I nanobelts were prepared by a facile hydrothermal method to study the crystal phase transformation and morphology evolution. Based on these results, a crystal growth mechanism of Bi₅ O₇ I nanobelts was proposed. To enhance the photocatalytic antifouling activity, ethanol or TiCl₃ was used to modify the Bi₅ O₇ I nanobelts. The resulting BiOI/Bi₂ O₂ CO₃ /Bi₅ O₇ I and TiO₂ /BiOCl/Bi₅ O₇ I micro-nanostructures show excellent degradation activity of malachite green and bactericidal effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which may be attributed to the higher charge carrier separation efficiency of these heterojunction structures. The results indicate that the formation of semiconductor composites is a very effective strategy to design high-performance photocatalyst systems.