Synthesis, Growth Mechanism, and Photocatalytic Properties of Metallic-Bi/BiSBr Nano-Bell Heterostructures.

We report the synthesis of bell-shaped Bi/BiSBr metal/semiconductor heterostructures as a photocatalyst based on nontoxic and Earth-abundant elements. Their unique morphology arises from a multistep growth process, involving (1) the nucleation of BiSBr nanorods, (2) the reduction of a metallic-Bi domain on their surface induced by -didodecylmethylamine, and (3) the heterostructure accretion by a localized reaction at the Bi/BiSBr interface promoted by Ostwald ripening. These heterostructures display remarkable stability in polar solvents, remaining almost unaffected by prolonged exposure to isopropanol and water, and exhibit high photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of organic dyes (i.e., Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue) under visible-light irradiation, with good recyclability. Additionally, preliminary tests demonstrate CO reduction capabilities, which make these heterostructures promising for both the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and photoelectrochemical CO conversion. The straightforward synthesis process and the use of nontoxic and Earth-abundant elements offer significant potential for sustainable energy conversion technologies.