Construction of C60-decorated SWCNTs (C60-CNTs)/bismuth-based oxide ternary heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Novel nanostructured carbon/BiVO₄ and nanostructured carbon/Bi₂MoO₆ nanocomposite photocatalysts were fabricated via a facile hydrothermal process by using fullerene (C₆₀)-decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as the carbon source, which are denoted as C₆₀-CNTs. The fabricated nanocomposites were characterized by various analytical techniques. The results showed that the C₆₀-CNTs are intimately bound to the bismuth-based oxide surfaces. The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra of C₆₀-CNTs/bismuth-based oxide nanocomposites exhibited increased visible-light absorption compared to pure bismuth-based oxides. Moreover, the ternary nanocomposites demonstrated significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B) under visible light. The enhanced performance is attributed to the extended absorption in the visible-light region resulting from the incorporation of C₆₀-CNTs, high specific surface area, and efficient separation of electron–hole pairs by the ternary composite system. In addition, the radical-trapping experiments revealed that the holes and O₂˙⁻ play major roles in the decolorization of Rh B under visible-light irradiation.