%0 Journal Article %T Bismuth Oxide Carbonate Structures Synthesized by Microwave—Assisted Solvothermal Approach and Its Use as Catalyst for the Degradation of Azo Dye in a Solution %A M. A. Luna-Alvarado %A M. Estrada-Flores %A M. E. Manríquez-Ramírez %A C. M. Reza-San Germán %J Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering %P 468-479 %@ 2327-4085 %D 2019 %I Scientific Research Publishing %R 10.4236/jmmce.2019.76033 %X Because the textile industry wastewater is polluted with azo dyes, and in order to improve a process of wastewater remediation, the synthesized sample was evaluated in the photocatalysis of methylene blue and compared with commercial Bi₂O₃ and anatase TiO₂. Structures of bismuth oxide carbonate (Bi₂O₂CO₃) were successfully synthesized using a solution at 0.03 M concentration of sodium bismuthate as precursor and ethylene glycol as dissolvent by solvothermal microwave-assisted approach. The semiconductor catalyst samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XDR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET). The application of the synthesized sample as catalyst, obtained a 68% of degradation. This result is better than the commercial Bi₂O₃ and close to the anatase TiO₂ degradation. This sample shows a variation in the formula (with the presence of carbonates) but also shows an acceptable degradation percentage according to TiO₂ results, making Bi₂O₂CO₃