Fabrication of Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4 visible-light driven photocatalyst for enhanced tetracycline degradation

Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4 photocatalysts with different mass ratios were prepared by heat treatment and simple hydro-thermal methods. The composition, microstructure, morphology and optical properties of the photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM/TEM, UV-vis-DRS, FTIR, XPS, EIS and PL. Tetracycline was used as the target organic contaminant to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4. The composite photo-catalyst with the mass ratio of g-C3N4 8 % exhibited the highest of 97.5 % tetracycline degradation after 120 min under visible light, the degradation rate is 6.5 and 3.3 times higher than that of pure Bi2MoO6 and g-C3N4, respectively. The trapping experiment results showed that holes, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were all involved in the photocatalytic reaction. The enhanced photocatalytic ability was attributed to the matched band structure and tightly connected heterojunction between Bi2MoO6 and g-C3N4, which effectively prevents the recombination of photogenerated carriers.

Automated summary

Bi2MoO6/g-C3N4 photocatalysts with different mass ratios were prepared and characterized. Tetracycline was used as the target contaminant for evaluation. The composite with g-C3N4 mass ratio of 8% showed the highest photocatalytic activity, degrading 97.5% of tetracycline under visible light in 120 minutes, which was 6.5 and 3.3 times higher than pure Bi2MoO6 and g-C3N4, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic ability was attributed to the matched band structure and tightly connected heterojunction.