LAUSR

Many great breakthroughs have been made in the past five years in understanding the mechanism of bismuth compounds. However, the actual efficiency achieved with this material to date is far away from the theoretical conversion efficiency. The structure and morphology have been proven to be vital factors to enhance the electronic migration to influence photocatalytic performance. Bismuth compounds with different structures and morphologies have certain application prospects in environmental governance due to their small band gap and strong visible light response. This review is aimed at summarizing the recent experimental and bandgap computational breakthroughs in photocatalytic properties of bismuth oxides and halides, in the meanwhile, compared with the band gap adjustment, the recombination of photoexcited electron–hole (e−–h+) pairs is one of the most important factors for the photocatalytic performance. Although bismuth compounds photocatalyst has been used for environmental applications, our understanding on the degradation mechanism of organic matters is limited. The target location and the degree of mineralization for different pollutants are not yet clear. Moreover, photocatalytic material needs to match the potential of the photogenerated e−–h+ pairs to the potential required to degrade the pollutant to be oxidized or reduced. We aim to provide guidelines for the rational design and fabrication of highly efficient bismuth compounds materials for water treatment. Additionally, the potential applications of bismuth compounds in environment are presented for future research directions.