Flame spray synthesis of visible light active nanocrystalline bismuth oxide based

BaBiO3 nanoparticles have been synthesized by dissolving Ba and Bi precursors in a suitable solvent and spraying into the high temperature acetylene flame using an atomizing gas. Resulting powders were characterized by nitrogen physisorption (measuring specific surface area), x-ray diffraction (phase composition), transmission electron microscopy (size, shape and morphology of the particles), whilst UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analyzed with the KubelkaMunk function has been used to study the visible light absorption of the photocatalyst and the optical band gaps. Specific surface area of the nanoparticles has been varied by changing the flow rate of the of the precursor solution that has significant influence on the combustion enthalpy density (CED) of the flame. Rate of degradation of formaldehyde under visible light illumination (>400 nm) has been used as the measure of the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of the particles whose specific surface area ranges from 5 to 50 m/g. Clear dependence of the specific surface area and crystallinity of the particles on the PCA has been observed which signifies the advantages of nanoparticles.