Facile synthesis and photocatalytic application of hierarchical mesoporous Bi2MoO6 nanosheet-based microspheres

Abstract

In this study, mesoporous aurivillius bismuth molybdenum oxide (Bi₂MoO₆) (A-BMO) microspheres were fabricated via a template-free solvothermal process in the presence of ethylene glycol. The as-prepared Bi₂MoO₆ products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption techniques, respectively. Results showed that the synthesized Bi₂MoO₆ microspheres were composed of nanosheets, with diameters of 0.5–1.0 μm, specific surface areas of about 50.86 m² g⁻¹, and a band gap energy of about 2.59 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the Bi₂MoO₆ microspheres was evaluated in the decomposition of rhodamine B (RhB) under xenon lamp irradiation. The A-BMO showed superior performance for the photodegradation of RhB, in comparison to the commercial P25 in the H₂O₂-containing system. The sedimentation, stability and recycling performance of the prepared A-BMO catalysts were also investigated. This study provided new insights into the design and preparation of functional nanomaterials with sphere structures in high yields, and the as-grown architectures exhibited potential ability to remove organic pollutants in wastewater.