Elsevier

Materials Letters

Volume 139, 15 January 2015, Pages 149-152
Materials Letters

Preparation and photocatalytic properties of BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2014.10.077Get rights and content

Highlights

  • BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite has been prepared by a one-step hydrothermal synthesis method.

  • The photocatalytic activity of BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst is better than the single BiOCl or the single Bi2MoO6.

  • The special band structure of the composite leads to superior photocatalytic property.

Abstract

BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite was prepared using a one-step hydrothermal synthesis method at 160 °C. The as-synthesized sample was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–vis. diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The photocatalytic activity of the product was evaluated through photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) and phenol under visible light irradiation. The results show that the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst possesses better photocatalytic activity in degrading MO and phenol than the single BiOCl or the single Bi2MoO6. The better photocatalytic properties may be due to the special band structure of the composite, because of which electrons and holes are separated effectively.

Introduction

Semiconductor photocatalysis was extensively studied for solving environmental and energy problems [1]. Because of the excellent photocatalytic property, Bi-based compounds are becoming promising materials among semiconductors [2]. BiOCl is a wide band gap semiconductor with layered structure in which halogen atom is located between [Bi2O2] layers [3]. It has been paid more attention due to its unique and outstanding optical, electrical, catalytic and magnetic properties [4], [5]. Our previous studies show that the properties of BiOCl material can be improved by controlling the microstructure and morphology[6], or doping some elements, compositing it with other semiconductors[7], [8]. Li et al. [9] synthesized BiOCl/Bi24O31Cl10 heterojunction with highly efficient activity through a self-combustion of ionic liquids route. Zhang et al. [10] synthesized Fe3O4/BiOCl nanocomposite, which showed a higher photocatalytic performance than that of single BiOCl. Our group reported the excellent photocatalytic properties of AgCl/BiOCl composite [11]. Bi2MoO6 possesses good photocatalytic activity under visible light. However, there is no report about the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite. In this article, the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst was synthesized through hydrothermal synthesis method. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by degrading methyl orange (MO) and phenol under visible light irradiation.

Section snippets

Experimental

Detailed synthesis process and characterization methods of samples was given in the supporting information.

Results and discussion

The XRD patterns of the samples are presented in Fig. 1. There are no other phases and peaks of impurities, demonstrating that all the samples are pure. BiOCl and Bi2MoO6 possess the phases corresponding to JCPDS numbers 06–0249 (a=3.891 Å and c=7.369 Å, Z=2) and 21–0102 (a=5.502 Å, b=16.213 Å, and c=5.483 Å). The XRD pattern of the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite sample indicates the mixing of BiOCl and Bi2MoO6 phases. No other phase is detected in the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite before and after the

Conclusion

In summary, the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized using hydrothermal method. The SEM images showed that the microsphere was composed of hundreds of thin nanoplates, and some nanoparticles were strewn on the sphere with a diameter of 3 μm from the view of morphology. From the photodegradation of the MO organic dye and phenol, we found that the BiOCl/Bi2MoO6 composited photocatalyst displayed better photocatalytic activity than both single BiOCl and single Bi2MoO6.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (51172012).

References (16)

  • P.S. Tang et al.

    Mater Lett

    (2011)
  • SJ Wu et al.

    Mater Lett

    (2010)
  • KL Zhang et al.

    Appl Catal B Environ

    (2006)
  • SJ Wu et al.

    Mater Lett

    (2011)
  • SY Chai et al.

    J Catal

    (2009)
  • FT Li et al.

    Appl Catal B Environ

    (2014)
  • L Zhang et al.

    Appl Catal B Environ

    (2009)
  • JS Cheng et al.

    Mater Lett

    (2014)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (46)

  • An overview on bismuth molybdate based photocatalytic systems: Controlled morphology and enhancement strategies for photocatalytic water purification

    2020, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
    Citation Excerpt :

    Different heterojunctions have different morphology, characteristics, and photocatalytic properties. Also, BMO 3D heterojunctions like CeO2/BMO [178], BMO/ZnO [179], AgMoO4/BMO [180], Ag2O/BMO [181], MoS2/BMO [182], BiOBr/BMO [183], BiOCl/BMO [184], etc. have been prepared through different routes, like precipitation-hydrothermal method, chemical depositions method, solvothermal deposition method, in-situ control growth, one step hydrothermal method, etc. These heterostructures were prepared with different morphologies like microspheres, flower like structure, hierarchical structure, etc.

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text