Laser-assisted preparation of highly-efficient photocatalytic nanomaterial based on bismuth silicate

Abstract Having a wide range of applications, bismuth silicate-based materials (BSO) attract attention of numerous researchers. Typically, they are synthesized either from active chemicals or through high-energy impact on their precursors. The present work is the first report on BSO-based nanomaterials prepared via laser processing in liquid phase in which the following two-step scheme was realized: (1) Individual colloids of Bi- and Si-based nanoparticles were obtained via ablating their metallic targets in distilled water and then mixed; (2) Post-treatment of the mixed colloid was performed with the same laser beam as in stage (1). The products obtained after drying of non-treated and post-treated mixed colloids (denoted as samples BSO and BSO_hν, respectively) were carefully characterized using a set of microscopic, spectroscopic and electrochemical analyses, after which their photocatalytic performance in presence of model organic dye (rhodamine B) and phenol was tested. The additional laser treatment was found to lead to active interaction between Bi- and Si-containing species and stimulated formation of phases with Bi-O-Si bonds. The post-irradiated sample BSO_hν showed improved stability and catalytic performance, thus opening avenues for wider use of laser processing in liquids as a method allowing for preparation of nanostructures with complex chemical composition.