The Novel Z-Scheme Ternary-Component Ag/AgI/α-MoO3 Catalyst with Excellent Visible-Light Photocatalytic Oxidative Desulfurization Performance for Model Fuel

The novel ternary-component Ag/AgI/alpha-MoO3 (AAM) photocatalyst was successfully fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method combined with a charge-induced physical adsorption and photo-reduced deposition technique. X-ray diffraction, scanning/transmission electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron, UV-vis diffuse reflectance, photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to characterize the composition, morphology, light-harvesting properties and charge transfer character of the as-synthesized catalysts. The ternary-component AAM heterojunctions exhibited an excellent visible-light photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization activity, in which the AAM-35 (35 represents weight percent of AgI in AAM sample) possessed the highest photocatalytic activity of the conversion of 97.5% in 2 h. On the basis of band structure analysis, radical trapping experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra results, two different catalytic mechanisms were suggested to elucidate how the photogenerated electron-hole pairs can be effectively separated for the enhancement of photocatalytic performance for dual composites AM-35 and ternary composites AAM-35 during the photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization (PODS) of thiophene. This investigation demonstrates that Z-scheme Ag/AgI/alpha-MoO3 will be a promising candidate material for refractory sulfur aromatic pollutant's removal in fossil fuel.