Bi4Ti3O12nanosheets/TiO2 submicron fibers heterostructures: in situ fabrication and high visible light photocatalytic activity

Abstract

In this paper, a facile two-step synthesis route combining an electrospinning method and hydrothermal technique has been accepted as a straightforward protocol for the exploitation of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/TiO₂ heterostructures which are composed of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ nanosheets on the surface of TiO₂ submicron fibers. The thickness of the as-grown nanosheets was about 20 nm and the size of the nanosheets increase with the increase of precursor concentration. Photocatalytic tests display that the Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/TiO₂ heterostructures possess a much higher degradation rate of rhodamine B (RB) than the unmodified TiO₂ submicron fibers under visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the extended absorption in the visible light region resulting from the Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ nanosheets, and the effective separation of photogenerated carriers driven by the photoinduced potential difference generated at the Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/TiO₂ junction interface.