Preparation of recyclable MoO3 nanosheets for visible-light driven photocatalytic reduction of Cr(vi)

Abstract

The exploitation of stable and earth-abundant photocatalysts with high catalytic activity remains a significant challenge for removing heavy metals from wastewater. Different from complex nanostructuring, this work focuses on a simple and feasible way to design catalysts. Herein, MoO₃ nanosheets were fabricated and grown vertically on the surface of a quartz tablet using a one-step chemical vapor deposition method. The morphology, construction and optical properties of the MoO₃ were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, HRTEM and UV-Vis methods, and the possible growth mechanism was also discussed. It can be found that the MoO₃ nanosheets exhibited significantly enhanced visible light photocatalytic reduction capacity with stable recyclability to Cr(VI). The results show that the MoO₃ nanosheets can be used as a cost-effective and recyclable photocatalyst for the removal of Cr(VI) from water. Our findings provide new inspiration for the design of new types of catalysts.