Cost effective glass-ceramics containing Bi2Ti2O7 nanocrystals for photocatalytic degradation of RhB

• Nano-sized Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 was successfully prepared by glass powder crystallization. • The best heat treatment process was held at 628 °C for 70 min. • The degree of crystal exposure has a great influence on photocatalytic efficiency. • The photocatalytic efficiency of pickled glass-ceramics is higher. The low-cost glass-ceramics catalyst can promote the application of photocatalysis technology in water pollution treatment. This study successfully synthesized cost-effective glass-ceramics containing nano-sized spherical Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 through a glass powder crystallization method. The photocatalytic efficiency of glass-ceramics catalyst prepared by different crystallization processes was evaluated by RhB dye. Furthermore, the factors affecting the photocatalytic efficiency of glass-ceramics were analyzed by crystallization mechanism, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). Under visible light irradiation, the glass-ceramics catalyst prepared by the best crystallization process can achieve photocatalytic degradation rate of 99.3 % within 300 min. This study shows that glass-ceramics catalyst can be rendered as one of the most suitable candidates for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.