A new V-doped Bi2(O,S)3 oxysulfide catalyst for highly efficient catalytic reduction of 2-nitroaniline and organic dyes.

A new type of convenient, and environmentally friendly, Vanadium (V)-doped Bi2(O,S)3 oxysulfide catalyst with different V contents was successfully synthesized via a simple and facile method. The obtained V-doped Bi2(O,S)3 solid solution catalysts were fully characterized by conventional methods. The catalytic performance of the samples was tested by using the reduction of 2-nitroaniline (2-NA) in aqueous solution. The reduction/decolorization of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) was also chosen to evaluate the universality of catalysts. It was observed that the introduction of V can improve the catalytic performance, and 20%V-Bi2(O,S)3 was found to be the optimal V doping concentration for the reduction of 2-NA, MB, and RhB dyes. For comparative purposes, a related V-free Bi2(O, S)3 oxysulfide material was synthesized and tested as the catalyst. The superior activity of V-doped Bi2(O,S)3 over pure Bi2(O,S)3 was ascribed mainly to an increase in active sites of the material and also due to the presence of synergistic effects. The presence of V5+ as found from XPS analysis may interact with Bi atoms and enhancing the catalytic activity of the sample. In the catalytic reduction of 2-NA, MB and RhB, the obtained V-doped Bi2(O,S)3 oxysulfide catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity as compared with other reported catalysts. Furthermore this highly efficient, low-cost and easily reusable V-doped Bi2(O,S)3 catalyst is anticipated to be of great potential in catalysis in the future.