Persimmon-like (BiO) 2 CO 3 microstructures: hydrothermal preparation, photocatalytic properties and their conversion into Bi 2 S 3

We report here the preparation of self-assembled persimmon-like (BiO)2CO3 microstructures via a simple hydrothermal process. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were employed to characterize the phases and morphologies of the products. The reactants could greatly influence the phases and morphologies of the final products. The growth process of the persimmon-like (BiO)2CO3 microstructures has been investigated. The persimmon-like (BiO)2CO3 could be utilized as a sacrificial template to synthesize sphere-like Bi2S3 microstructures by a chemical transformation process. The as-prepared (BiO)2CO3 was able to efficiently degrade Rhodamine B (RhB) and eosin sodium salt under simulated solar irradiation.