Novel reduced graphene oxide wrapped Bi2.38Mo0.81O6 microspheres for highly efficient visible light photocatalysis

Novel reduced graphene oxide (RGO) wrapped Bi2.38Mo0.81O6 (Bi2.38M0.081O6@RGO) composites were successfully synthesized via a facile method. The morphology, structure and photocatalytic performance of the composites in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectra, respectively. The results show that the Bi2.38Mo0.81O6@RGO composites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic performance in the degradation of RhB and phenol with maximum degradation rates of 99% (80 min) and 88% (240 min) under visible light irradiation, respectively. The improved photocatalytic performance is mainly ascribed to the enhanced light absorption and the reduced electron-hole pair recombination with the presence of RGO in the composites. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.