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Manufacturing of Photoactive β-Bismuth Oxide by Flame Spray Oxidation

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Abstract

Photoactive tetragonal bismuth oxide powder with different semiconducting characteristics was synthesized from Bi-pellets by flame spray oxidation. The effect of feedstock particle size and standoff distance (SOD) on the physical properties of β-Bi2O3 keeping constant the fuel/oxygen ratio is here reported. The flame spray oxidized powder was collected either from evaporated or in-flight particles quenched in water. The combination of flame spray processing parameters led to different β-Bi2O3 phase contents, oxidation characteristics, size distribution (nanometric and micrometric sized), morphology, and optical properties of the sprayed powder. The highest micrometric β-Bi2O3 content quenched in water was obtained at a SOD of 30 cm using a particle size distribution of 12-60 μm of Bi-feedstock. The obtained powder from in-flight particles collected in water allowed us to analyze the oxidation characteristics of bismuth. Micrometric powder shows the synthesis of snowman-like Bi/β-Bi2O3 Janus particles. The nanometric sized Bi2O3 powder was continuously obtained by spray oxidation, where its collection efficiency depends on processing parameters and showed spherical morphology and a highly pure tetragonal phase with narrow visible light absorbance (Eg = 2.26 eV). These optical characteristics indicate that the obtained β-Bi2O3 powder is suitable for high-performance visible-light photocatalyst.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank CONACYT for the financial support for master and Ph.D studies. This project was funded by CONACYT 293429 and 896 projects carried out at CENAPROT and LIDTRA national laboratories. The Francisco de Paula Santander University, Colombia, for funding in the mobility internship for research. The authors also thank Dr. Jesus Porcayo Calderón, CromoDuro y Horneados S.A. Especial thanks to Ariel Plaza Estrada for his technical support and feedback during the experimental setup.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional Unidad Querétaro, Libramiento Norponiente 2000, Fracc. Real de Juriquilla, C.P. 76230, Querétaro, Qro, México

    M. T. Ayala-Ayala & J. Muñoz-Saldaña

  2. Institut für Technische Chemie, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, 30167, Hannover, Germany

    M. T. Ayala-Ayala

  3. Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander, Avenida Gran Colombia No. 12E-96, 540003, Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia

    M. Y. Ferrer-Pacheco

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  1. M. T. Ayala-Ayala
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Ayala-Ayala, M.T., Ferrer-Pacheco, M.Y. & Muñoz-Saldaña, J. Manufacturing of Photoactive β-Bismuth Oxide by Flame Spray Oxidation. J Therm Spray Tech 30, 1107–1119 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-021-01182-2

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