Performance enhancement strategies of bi-based photocatalysts: A review on recent progress

Bi-based photocatalysts are important visible-light-driven photocatalysts for their great potential to solve the energy and environmental issues under visible light. However, the photocatalytic performance of pristine Bi-based photocatalysts remains unsatisfactory due to their inherent drawbacks. In the past few years, the enormous efforts have been made to improve the performance and understand the related mechanism. In this review, several well-known Bi-based photocatalysts and their synthesis methods have been introduced, and then the recent advances and performance-enhancing strategies for Bi-based photocatalysts have been discussed in detail, including structural design, microstructure control, fabrication of Bi-based composites. By summarizing the enhancement mechanism such as light absorption, modulation of energy band, and utilization of photogenerated charge, we highlight the relationship between structural characteristics and photocatalytic performance. Finally, future prospects for the development of Bi-based photocatalysts as well as challenges are also discussed and summarized.