Facile hydrothermal synthesis and improved photocatalytic activities of Zn2+ doped Bi2MoO6 nanosheets

Abstract

A novel sheet-like Zn²⁺ doped Bi₂MoO₆ photocatalyst was fabricated through a facile hydrothermal strategy. The morphologies and chemical compositions of the samples were investigated with the help of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman and FT-IR spectra. These experimental results indicated that Zn²⁺ ions could be incorporated into the crystal lattices of Bi₂MoO₆ and substituted the Bi³⁺ ions. Photocatalytic experiments revealed that the as-obtained Zn²⁺ doped Bi₂MoO₆ nanosheets possessed excellent UV-visible light induced photocatalytic ability for the decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) molecules by comparison with undoped Bi₂MoO₆. The effect of some scavengers on the photocatalytic efficiency was assessed. Moreover, a possible enhancement mechanism of photocatalytic activity over Zn²⁺ doped Bi₂MoO₆ nanosheets was presented based on the systematical characterization results.