Diversely phased glass-ceramics in Bi2O3–SiO2 system for heterostructure formation: A demonstration via visible-light-sensitive photocatalytic reaction

Abstract

Structural ordering in the glass phase during heating processes (i.e., crystallization) creates aggregate textures with diverse phases in ceramic materials. In this study, we focused on a glass-ceramic technique as a new approach for the formation of heterostructures enabling electronic interactions between different crystallized phases. In this study, we fabricated diversely phased glass-ceramics (DPGCs) from a binary Bi2O3–SiO2 glass precursor and investigated the visible-light-responsible photocatalytic reaction. We found the co-precipitation of metastable Bi2SiO5 and δ-Bi2O3 phases in the heat-treated precursor, and the resulting DPGCs were confirmed to show remarkable photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation, ascribed to the heterojunction between the Bi2SiO5 and δ-Bi2O3 phases. This study not only demonstrates the heterostructure using DPGCs but also has practical significance in contributing to the mass production of visible-light-responsive photocatalysts using simple heat treatment.