Enhancement of 3D Bi2MoO6 mesoporous spheres photocatalytic performance by vacancy engineering

The three-dimensional Bi2MoO6 mesoporous architectures constructed by nanosheets were synthesized through solvothermal method. The photocatalytic efficiency for tetracycline (TC) by the pristine Bi2MO6 and the BMO-450 (pristine Bi2MO6 was calcined at 450 °C) reached 73% and 90% after 150 min light irradiation, respectively. Compared to the photocatalytic efficiency of pristine Bi2MoO6, the BMO-450 exhibited much higher photocatalytic performance owing to the presence of oxygen vacancies obvious change the band structure of BMO-450. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the presence of oxygen vacancy in the BMO-450 crystal, which endowed it outstanding photocatalytic performance. Moreover, the BMO-450 possess high crystallization degree, mesoporous structure and the decreasing band gap. The excellent photocatalytic performance for the degradation of TC aqueous solutions, which demonstrate that the calcined Bi2MoO6 mesoporous spheres would have potential applications in the fields of treating wastewater.