Controllable synthesis of metallic Bi from commercial Bi2O3 via one-pot solvothermal reduction method

Metallic bismuth crystal is one important and interesting semimetal that has attracted great attention owing to its unique thermal and electrical properties. Herein, we report a facile, green, cost-effective and sustainable solvothermal process using ethanol, glycol, isopropanol, phenylcarbinol as solvent and commercial Bi 2 O 3 as the starting material to produce high-purity metallic Bi with tunable morphologies on large scale. It is found that all alcohols are capable of reducing Bi 2 O 3 to Bi and the reducibility of glycol is proved to be the strongest. The highest purity of the resultant Bi is calculated to be 99.74%. What's more, the morphology of final Bi particles is controllable by adding various types and concentrations of additives. As a consequence, our work lays the root for the large scale solvothermal production of high-purity Bi particles with various regular morphologies.