Semiconductor-based photocatalysis is a promising technology for the future of solar fuel production. However, the solar energy conversion efficiency is not much studied. Hence it is important to create innovative semiconductor photocatalysts for environmental rehabilitation and energy production. Recently, bismuth-based oxide (BiO_2-x) has seen attention due to its narrow bandgap, high number of defect sites and its unique layered structure. In this study, we discussed photocatalytic performance of the BiO_2-x catalyst and its derived emergent forms through meta-analysis of data published between 2015 and 2020, allowing to explore the best available technologies prevalent for industrial applications. Various studies including pure BiO_2-x, doped BiO_2-x and BiO_2-x based heterogeneous nanocomposites were selected through PRISMA guidelines for critical discussion. This study has been conducted with the aim of narrowing out various techniques of preparation of BiO_2-x related photocatalysts, thus allowing to select the most efficient technique. The qualitative review and meta-analysis of 17 out of 21019 studies revealed that, BiO_2-x despite being an excellent photocatalyst in the UV–Vis-INR range, still underperforms in comparison to its derivatives. These synthesized subsidiaries include BiO_2-x based nanocomposites with a thin layer structure, doped with various elements, or coupled with other semiconductors. The current meta-analysis of data is the first of its kind and a step forward in analyzing the potential of BiO_2-x and its derivatives quantitatively and extensively. It implies the future research directions that can be adopted for development of the improved techniques of preparing photocatalysts made up of BiO_2-x and its derivatives.

基于半导体的光催化是未来太阳能燃料生产的一项有前途的技术。然而，太阳能转换效率的研究并不多。因此，为环境修复和能源生产创造创新的半导体光催化剂非常重要。最近，铋基氧化物（BiO _2-x）因其窄带隙、大量缺陷位点和独特的层状结构而受到关注。在这项研究中，我们通过对 2015 年至 2020 年间发布的数据进行元分析讨论了 BiO _2-x催化剂及其衍生形式的光催化性能，从而探索了工业应用中流行的最佳可用技术。各种研究，包括纯 BiO _2-x、掺杂 BiO通过 PRISMA 指南选择基于_2-x和 BiO _2-x的异质纳米复合材料进行批判性讨论。本研究旨在缩小制备 BiO _2-x相关光催化剂的各种技术，从而选择最有效的技术。对 21019 年研究中的 17 项进行的定性审查和荟萃分析表明，BiO _2-x尽管在 UV-Vis-INR 范围内是一种出色的光催化剂，但与其衍生物相比仍然表现不佳。这些合成的子公司包括 BiO _2-x基于纳米复合材料的薄层结构，掺杂各种元素，或与其他半导体耦合。当前的数据荟萃分析是同类中的第一个，也是定量和广泛地分析 BiO _2-x及其衍生物潜力的一步。这意味着未来的研究方向可用于开发制备由BiO _2-x及其衍生物组成的光催化剂的改进技术。