A novel composite material with wood-based carbon quantum dots modified Bi2MoO6 hollow microspheres

Composite materials made from renewable resources are challenging, requiring innovative research. In this study, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were obtained via a simple hydrothermal method using waste larch wood as the raw material without the use of toxic reagents. The CQDs have a delocalized conjugated structure and can cause rapid photogenerated electron-hole pair separation and a relatively slow recombination. They also emit blue-green light upon independent excitation and are potential candidates for use as novel activators. 3D Bi2MoO6 hollow microspheres are expected to become competitive structures, since they can be synthesized via a mixed solvothermal method without the need for added surfactants or other hard-template conditions. The formation mechanism of Bi2MoO6 hollow microspheres was systematically examined. Bi2MoO6 hollow micro spheres were selected in this research as the matrix and were doped with CQDs to synthesize a new composite material, CQDs/Bi2MoO6. It was observed that methylene blue could be degraded by Bi2MoO6 hollow micro spheres using visible light irradiation, and the photocatalytic performance was increased when modified with CQDs. Additionally, the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs was enhanced via the addition of CQDs to Bi2MoO6. Thus, the CQDs/Bi2MoO6 system was more effective for the degradation of methylene blue when irradiated using visible light.