An excellent Z-scheme Ag2MoO4/Bi4Ti3O12 heterojunction photocatalyst: Construction strategy and application in environmental purification

Herein we have designed an excellent type of Z-scheme Ag2MoO4/Bi4Ti3O12 (AMO/BTO) heterojunction photocatalysts by immobilizing AMO particles onto rod-like BTO hierarchical architectures. The formation of Z-scheme AMO/BTO heterostructures was verified by various characterization techniques including XRD, UV-vis DR spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, XPS and FTIR spectroscopy. PL spectroscopy, photocurrent response and EIS analyses suggest that the creation of AMO/BTO heterojunctions is conducive to the efficient separation of photoexcited electron-hole pairs. The photocatalytic performances of the AMO/BTO composites were investigated by simulated-sunlight driving photodegradation of methylene blue (MB), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), phenol and methyl orange (MO)/rhodamine B (RhB)/MB mixture solutions. It is demonstrated that the AMO/BTO heterojunction photocatalysts are endowed with excellent photodegradation performances much higher than that of bare AMO and BTO. For example, the photodegradation rate of MB by using 30 wt%AMO/BTO - confirmed to be the optimal composite sample - is about 17.0 and 14.7 times as high as that by using bare BTO and AMO, respectively. A Z-scheme electron transfer mechanism was proposed to elucidate the enhanced photodegradation performances of the AMO/BTO heterojunction photocatalysts.

Automated summary

By immobilizing AMO particles onto rod-like BTO hierarchical architectures, a Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst was designed, facilitating efficient separation of photoexcited electron-hole pairs and demonstrating superior photodegradation performance compared to bare AMO and BTO.