Progress on degradation of organic pollutants in water by bismuth-based photoelectrocatalysts

Photoelectrocatalytic technology, which assists photocatalysis through an electric field, can effectively inhibit the recombination of photogenerated carriers and improve the removal rate of organic pollutants, exhibiting advantages of simplicity, efficiency, and ease of operation. Photoelectrode material is the key to photoelectrocatalytic technology. Compared with other traditional catalysts, bismuth-based semiconductors have a higher utilization rate of light due to their unique layered structure and suitable forbidden band width. The layered structure of the bismuth-based materials can induce an internal electric field in the layer, promote the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, accelerate the transfer of carriers, and improve the photocatalytic performance. The preparation, characterization and performance of unary bismuth compounds, bismuth binary oxides compounds, bismuth oxyhalide compounds and oxyacid bismuth compounds were introduced, and the advantages of bismuth-based materials as photoelectrode materials were briefly described. The research on its degradation of organic pollutants was reviewed, the application of bismuth-based materials to photoelectrocatalysis for wastewater treatment was summarized. The development of new catalysts and how to promote the establishment of and evaluation system for the impact on the environment during the whole life cycle of catalysts were the key directions for subsequent research.