Xue Lin,
Jing Hou,
Shanshan Jiang,
Zhe Lin,
Miao Wang and
Guangbo Che*
Key Laboratory of Preparation and Application Environmentally Friendly Materials of Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China. E-mail: jlsdlinxue@126.com; Fax: +86 434 329 1890; Tel: +86 156 9434 9717
First published on 1st December 2015
A Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid was successfully prepared for the first time via an in situ precipitation method. The as-prepared Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid included Ag3PO4 nanoparticles (NPs) as well as Ag NPs assembling on the surface of Bi2MoO6 nanosheets. Under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid photocatalyst degraded rhodamine B (Rh B) efficiently and showed much higher photocatalytic activity than pure Ag3PO4, Bi2MoO6, Ag/Ag3PO4, Ag/Bi2MoO6, or Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6. It was elucidated that the excellent photocatalytic performance of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 for the degradation of Rh B under visible light could be ascribed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes through the Z-scheme system composed of Ag3PO4, Ag and Bi2MoO6, in which Ag NPs acted as the charge transmission-bridge. The quenching effects of different scavengers illustrated that O2˙− and h+ played the major role in Rh B degradation.
Ag3PO4 is well known as a photosensitive material and regarded as an appropriate candidate for the construction of hybrid photocatalysts with other semiconductors.25,26 Zhang and co-workers reported Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst, which was fabricated by covering the surface of spherical Bi2MoO6 with Ag3PO4 nanoparticles through deposition–precipitation process.27 This hybrid showed remarkably high photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B) and methyl blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. However, Ag3PO4 is subject to stability issues because it is prone to photoreduction and decomposition if no sacrificial reagent is supplied, which greatly hinders its practical application in the environmental management. It has been reported that elemental silver Ag0 on the surface of Ag3PO4 may act as an electron acceptor to enhance the charge separation and prevent the reductive decomposition of Ag3PO4.28 In addition, metallic silver species can significantly improve the visible light absorption efficiency due to the effect of surface plasmon resonance. In addition, with more and more attention has been paid to the mechanism of Ag/Ag3PO4-based photocatalysts, the by-product Ag has been found to be a charge transmission bridge in the Ag/Ag3PO4-based Z-scheme systems. It has been reported that these Z-scheme systems can not only facilitate the charge separation but also retain the high reducibility and oxidability of the remaining electrons and holes for the corresponding photocatalysts.28–30 Recently, there are a few reports on the photocatalytic activity evaluation of Ag/Ag3PO4-based Z-scheme systems, for instance Ag/Ag3PO4/SiC,28 Ag/Ag3PO4/g-C3N4,29 and Ag/Ag3PO4/WO3−x.30 Thus, by combining Bi2MoO6 and Ag/Ag3PO4 particles to constitute a Z-scheme photocatalyst, both the utilization of visible light and the surface-interface charge transfer efficiency of photo-generated carriers could be enhanced. However, until now, there is few report focusing on the assembly of Bi2MoO6 nanosheet with Ag/Ag3PO4 NPs. Furthermore, no attention has been paid to the mechanism of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 photodegradation process under visible light irradiation, which has remained unclear to date.
Herein, we report a successful attempt at the fabrication of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hierarchical nanostructures via a facile in situ precipitation method, and the photocatalytic activity of these nanostructures was investigated by measuring the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B) under visible light (λ > 420 nm). Furthermore, the photocatalytic mechanism of the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid was investigated through reactive species trapping experiments. Finally, the stability of the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid photocatalyst was also examined.
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Fig. 1 XRD patterns of Ag3PO4, Bi2MoO6, Ag/Bi2MoO6, Ag/Ag3PO4, Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6, and Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrids. |
In order to confirm the existence of metallic Ag and Ag3PO4, XPS technology has been employed to analyze the surface element composition and chemical state of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6, and the obtained results are shown in Fig. 2. From Fig. 2a, the Ag 3d peaks of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 have separated as Ag+ peaks and Ag0 peaks. The peaks at 367.1 and 373.1 eV are attributed to Ag0,28 indicating existence of metallic Ag on the surface of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample. The peaks at 366.4 and 372.3 eV are assigned to Ag+ of Ag3PO4.28 A broad peak in the range of 129 to 134 eV of the P 2p spectrum (Fig. 2b) is observed for the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample which is corresponding to the phosphorus of Ag3PO4.29 The results give solid evidence of the formation of metallic Ag and Ag3PO4. The Bi 4f fine XPS spectrum of the sample is shown in Fig. 2c. XPS signals of Bi 4f are observed at binding energies at about 162.9 eV (Bi 4f7/2) and 157.5 eV (Bi 4f5/2), ascribed to Bi3+.27 The characteristic spin–orbital splitting photoelectrons for Mo 3d (234.8 and 231.6 eV) indicate a six-valent oxidation state for Mo6+ (ref. 27) (Fig. 2d).
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Fig. 2 XPS spectra of the as-obtained Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample: (a) Ag 3d spectrum, (b) P 2p spectrum, (c) Bi 4f, (d) Mo 3d spectrum. |
The SEM images of Bi2MoO6, Ag/Bi2MoO6, Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 and Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 samples are revealed in the Fig. S1.† The as-prepared Bi2MoO6 particles are composed of nanosheets with average sizes of about 100 nm and thickness of tens of nanometers (Fig. S1a†). The Ag/Bi2MoO6, Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6, and Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 samples display a similar morphology to pure Bi2MoO6 (Fig. S1b–d†), indicating that low amount Ag3PO4 and Ag loading did not have any influence on the morphology of Bi2MoO6 crystals. Moreover, the component and connection of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 were investigated by TEM, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3a shows the sheet-like structure of the as-synthesized Bi2MoO6 sample. It can be seen that the sizes of Ag3PO4 crystals are of 10–20 nm (Fig. 3b). From Fig. 3c, it can be clearly found that the Ag NPs and Ag3PO4 NPs were loaded on the surface of Bi2MoO6. Fig. 3d shows the HRTEM image of the as-fabricated Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample. By measuring the lattice fringes, the resolved interplanar distances are about 0.236, 0.213, and 0.314 nm, which correspond to the (111) plane of Ag, the (210) plane of Ag3PO4, and the (131) plane of Bi2MoO6, respectively.
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Fig. 3 TEM images of Bi2MoO6 (a), Ag3PO4 (b), Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 (c), and HRTEM image of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 (d). |
Fig. 4a displays the UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra of Bi2MoO6, Ag3PO4, Ag/Bi2MoO6, Ag/Ag3PO4, Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6, and Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6. It can be seen that bare Bi2MoO6 exhibits strong absorbance in wavelengths shorter than 520 nm, and pure Ag3PO4 shows strong absorbance in wavelengths shorter than 510 nm. The Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample shows the similar absorption edge and a broader absorption in the visible region as comparison with pure Bi2MoO6. Ag/Bi2MoO6 and Ag/Ag3PO4 samples show obvious visible-light absorption, which can be attributed to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the loading Ag, further confirming the formation of Ag. The absorption curve of the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 shows distinctly enhanced visible-light absorption compared to the pure Bi2MoO6 and Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 samples. According to the plot of (αhν)2 versus energy, as shown in Fig. 4b, the band gap energies (Eg) of Ag3PO4 and Bi2MoO6 have been calculated to be 2.42 and 2.36 eV, respectively. The band structure of Ag3PO4 and Bi2MoO6 can be estimated according to the empirical eqn (1) and (2) below;
EVB = X − Ee + 0.5Eg | (1) |
ECB = EVB − Eg | (2) |
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Fig. 4 (a) UV-vis DRS of as-synthesized samples. (b) The plots of (αhν)2 versus photon energy (hν) for the band gap energies of Ag3PO4 and Bi2MoO6. |
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Scheme 1 Schematic diagram of the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges in the hybrid under visible light irradiation. |
The photocatalytic properties of the as-prepared samples under visible light irradiation were evaluated, as shown in Fig. 5. This result clearly demonstrates that the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure Ag3PO4, Bi2MoO6, Ag/Ag3PO4, Ag/Bi2MoO6, and Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6, which suggests that combining Ag/Ag3PO4 and Bi2MoO6 is an efficient route to enhance their photocatalytic activities. In the presence of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6, almost 100% of the Rh B molecules were decomposed within 80 min visible light irradiation. The Ag3PO4 NPs and Ag NPs coating can improve the visible light absorption efficiency (Fig. 4a), which is beneficial for the hybrid to photolyze Rh B. In addition, efficient Z-scheme system can separate the photoinduced charges effectively, thus enhancing the photocatalytic performance of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6.
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Fig. 5 Photodegradation efficiencies of Rh B as a function of irradiation time for different photocatalysts. |
The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra were studied to investigate the charge recombination and transfer behaviour of the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst, as shown in Fig. 6. It is well-known that the recombination of electron–hole pairs can release energy in the form of PL emission. In general, a lower PL intensity indicates lower recombination of charge carriers, leading to higher photocatalytic activity. However, the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 with the higher photocatalytic activity showed a higher PL intensity than that of Bi2MoO6 and Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6. The higher PL intensity of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 would be resulted from higher recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in the metallic Ag. The photogenerated electrons in the CB of Ag3PO4 and holes in the VB of Bi2MoO6 will shift to the metallic Ag simultaneously and then combine here, which leads to higher PL intensity. The recombination in the metallic Ag is beneficial for accelerating the separation of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs in both Ag3PO4 and Bi2MoO6, so the photocatalytic performance of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 improved. In addition, it can be clearly observed that the PL intensity of Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 was lower than that of pure Bi2MoO6 because of the formation of heterojunction between Ag3PO4 and Bi2MoO6 can efficiently suppress the recombination of the photogenerated electron–hole in the hybrid. On the basis of the above results, the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 system is a typical Z-scheme photocatalyst rather than heterojunction photocatalyst. It is suggested that rich electrons in the CB of Bi2MoO6 and holes in the VB of Ag3PO4 participate in the reduction reaction of dissolved O2 and the oxidation of Rh B, respectively. The stability and reusability of Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst were evaluated by the cycling degradation experiment, as shown in Fig. S2.† The results revealed that the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 did not show obvious decrease of photocatalytic degradation activity under visible light, indicating that the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid photocatalyst is sufficient stable for photocatalytic degradation of Rh B.
To investigate the photocatalytic mechanism of the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 hybrid, the effect of scavengers on the degradation of Rh B was tested in the photocatalytic oxidation process and the results are shown in Fig. 7. As revealed in Fig. 7, under the visible-light irradiation of the Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample, the photodegradation rate of Rh B had slight decrease after the addition of hydroxyl radical scavenger IPA, indicating that ˙OH was not the main reactive specie in the photocatalytic process. In contrast, the photocatalytic degradation of Rh B was significantly repressed in presence of EDTA-2Na and BQ. According to these results, it can be concluded that h+ and O2˙− are the main oxygen active species for Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst in the Rh B solution under visible light illumination. It can be deduced that the electrons left on the ECB of Bi2MoO6 reduce O2 to O2˙− through one-electron reducing reaction because the ECB potential of Bi2MoO6 is more negative than E0(O2/O2˙−) (−0.046 eV vs. NHE). Both the holes in the EVB of Ag3PO4 and the O2˙− radicals can completely oxidize Rh B molecules to water and carbon dioxide.
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Fig. 7 Trapping experiments of active species during the photocatalytic degradation of Rh B over Ag/Ag3PO4/Bi2MoO6 sample under visible light irradiation. |
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5ra22110b |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015 |