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Photochemical solution deposition of β-Bi2O3 thin films

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel, hybrids and solution chemistries
  • Published:
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Abstract

The non-equilibrium β-Bi2O3 polymorph is stabilized in thin films by a photochemical synthesis method. A strong ultraviolet-absorbing bismuth(III)-N-methyldiethanolamine complex is synthesized in solution as an ideal precursor for the β-Bi2O3 phase. Ultraviolet-light induces the formation of an amorphous —Bi—O—Bi— continuous network in the films deposited from the former solution that easily converts into the β-Bi2O3 polymorph at a temperature as low as 250 °C. The room temperature stabilization of the β-Bi2O3 phase is confirmed by their structural characterization using four-circle X-ray diffractometry. This study unequivocally identified the tetragonal crystal structure of the β-Bi2O3 polymorph in the films. The high phase purity of these β-Bi2O3 films is responsible for their exceptional visible-light photocatalytic activity, thus enabling the applications of the films of this metastable phase at room-temperature conditions.

Graphical Abstract

Photosensitive precursor solutions containing a photosensitive Bi(III)-N-methyldiethanolamine complex lead to the stabilization of the high-temperature β-Bi2O3polymorph in films on Pt-coated silicon substrates prepared at a low temperature of 250 °C using UV-irradiation.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been financed by the Spanish Project MAT2013-40489-P and MAT2016-76851-R. I.B. acknowledges the financial support by Fundación General CSIC (Spanish ComFuturoProgramme)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICMM-CSIC), C/ Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 3, Cantoblanco, Madrid , 28049, Spain

    Dulce Perez-Mezcua, Iñigo Bretos, Ricardo Jiménez, Jesús Ricote, Rafael José Jiménez-Rioboó & M. Lourdes Calzada

  2. Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona , 31008, Spain

    Dulce Perez-Mezcua & Rafael Sirera

  3. CRISMAT—ENSICAEN and IUT-Caen, Université de Caen Normandie, Caen , 14050, France

    Cosmelina Gonçalves da Silva & Daniel Chateigner

  4. Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, Chihuahua , 31109, Mexico

    Luis Fuentes-Cobas

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  1. Dulce Perez-Mezcua
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  2. Iñigo Bretos
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  3. Ricardo Jiménez
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  10. M. Lourdes Calzada
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Correspondence to M. Lourdes Calzada.

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Perez-Mezcua, D., Bretos, I., Jiménez, R. et al. Photochemical solution deposition of β-Bi2O3 thin films. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 81, 355–361 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-016-4295-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-016-4295-6

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