Facile synthesis of Bi2S3 nanocrystalline-modified TiO2: Fe nanotubes hybrids and their photocatalytic activities in dye degradation

Interface-induced effects and large specific area of heteronanostructures are attracting much attention due to applications in photocatalysis. In this work, ultrafine bismuth sulfide (Bi₂S₃) nanocrystalline-modified Fe-doped TiO₂ nanotubes (NTs) were fabricated with facile methods. The effect of the ratio of Bi₂S₃ to the Fe-doped TiO₂ NTs on the microstructural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of the NTs and hybrids was studied. The NTs showed an actual Fe content of ～ 2.93 at.%. The optical bandgap of the NTs and hybrids was ～2.90 eV and ～2.46–2.88 eV, respectively, and decreased with increasing Bi₂S₃/NTs ratio. The specific surface area of the NTs was ～333 m² · g^?1; whereas the hybrids showed obviously larger specific surface area of ～ 527–689 m² · g^?1 than the NTs because of well-controlled formation process of Bi₂S₃ nanoparticles. The sunlight-excited degradation experiments of dyes in the water indicated that the photocatalytic activity of the hybrids was higher than that of the NTs and increased with increasing Bi₂S₃/NTs ratio. Moreover, the degradation rates of two dyes at different initial pH values were very different. The high photocatalytic activity of the hybrids was mainly ascribed to the narrow bandgap, large specific surface area, and effective heterojunction.