Facile synthesis of Bi 2 MoO 6 /ZnSnO 3 heterojunction with enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

In this paper, visible-light-driven Bi2MoO6/ZnSnO3 (BMZ) hybrid photocatalysts were successful fabricated by a combined solvothermal (160 °C, 6 h) and annealing steps (450 °C, 1 h). Systematical characterization methods including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) were implemented to further analyze the obtained hybrids. The photocatalytic properties were investigated against degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. Obviously, BMZ hybrid photocatalysts displayed better photocatalytic performance compared with the bare Bi2MoO6 and ZnSnO3. Particularly, the highest photocatalytic activity was obtained by the 5-BMZ composite with the degradation efficiency of approximate 95%, which was up to 1.27 times and 7.31 times higher in comparison with pure Bi2MoO6 and ZnSnO3, respectively. The superior photocatalytic performances may be derived from the formation of heterojunction and presence of active species including O2− and h+. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for improved photocatalytic activity was proposed.