Preparation and characterization of Ag<inf>3</inf>VO<inf>4</inf>/Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf>nanocomposites with highly visible-light-induced photocatalytic properties

Abstract

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Heterostructure Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6nanocomposites were prepared by a hydrothermal-precipitation combination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the formation of monoclinic Ag3VO4nanoparticles with the size of 7-12 nm adsorbed on orthorhombic Bi2MoO6nanoplates. The photocatalytic properties of pure Bi2MoO6, 1.0 wt% Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6, 2.5 wt% Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6, 5.0 wt% Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6and 10.0 wt% Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6photocatalysts were investigated through photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light for 100 min. In this research, the 10.0 wt% Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6nanocomposites exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity under visible light. A possible photodegradation mechanism of RhB by Ag3VO4/Bi2MoO6nanocomposites was also proposed and discussed.