Size-controlled synthesis of hierarchical bismuth selenide nanoflowers and their photocatalytic performance in the presence of H2O2

Bismuth selenide (Bi 2 Se 3 ) has attracted great attention as one of typical topological insulator materials. In this work, size-controllable Bi 2 Se 3 nanoflowers (NFs) composed of numerous thin nanosheets are successfully synthesized by a hot-solution injection method under mild conditions. The structure and morphology of the obtained Bi 2 Se 3 NFs are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic (EDS), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) techniques. The reaction temperature, time, and surfactant ratio (oleylamine/oleic acid) affect the phase purity and morphology of Bi 2 Se 3 samples. Based on the experimental results, the formation mechanism of Bi 2 Se 3 nanoflowers is proposed. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic behavior of the as-prepared Bi 2 Se 3 nanoflowers in the presence of H 2 O 2 is explored and it is found that the degrading rate of RhB can reach 93% after 2 h visible light irradiation.