Advances in preparation methods of bismuth-based photocatalysts

Bismuth-based semiconducting photocatalysts have received more and more attentions due to their suitable band gap for visible light response, rich varieties, availability, and potential applications in photocatalysis areas including hydrogen evolution from water splitting, refractory pollutant removal, organic synthesis, and so on. Since photocatalysis belongs to a heterogeneous reaction, the surface structure characteristics of photocatalysts play a crucial role in the photocatalytic performance, which is dependent on preparation techniques. Various strategies have been proposed for the preparation of bismuth-based photocatalysts with desirable structure and morphology. The same preparation methods with slight conditions change may lead to different microstructures and properties, or vice versa. This review comparably summarize the development in the preparation strategies of bismuth-based photocatalysts particles, and especially, analyzes reaction process and formation mechanism to various microstructures, aiming to provide help and guidelines for future work.