Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of visible light-driven I-doped Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst

0-3% I-doped Bi2MoO6 samples as visible light-driven-photocatalysts were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Structure, morphology, composition and optical properties of as-synthesized samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, BET surface area analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of Bi2MoO6 and I-doped Bi2MoO6 samples were investigated through degradation of rhodamine B as a pollutant model induced by visible radiation. The experimental results show that Bi2MoO6 exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity by doping with iodine. In addition, the mechanism for photocatalytic degradation of organic molecules by I-doped Bi2MoO6 was discussed.