Enhanced properties for visible-light-driven photocatalysis of Ag nanoparticle modified Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> nanoplates

• Main Authors: Anukorn Phuruangrat, Sunisa Putdum, Phattranit Dumrongrojthanath, Nuengruethai Ekthammathat, Somchai Thongtem, Titipun Thongtem
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Engineering; Materials Science; Physics and Astronomy
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84928955557&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/54496
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The visible light driven Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> photocatalyst doped with different contents of Ag nanoparticles was successfully synthesized by a combination of hydrothermal and sonochemical methods. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy to investigate crystalline structure, morphology, composition and photocatalytic properties. XRD patterns and TEM images of the samples revealed pure phase orthorhombic Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> nanoplates without any detection of Ag dopant due to its low concentration and very tiny particle size. TEM images showed that Ag nanoparticles with the size of 10-15 nm were dispersed randomly on the surface of Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf>. The XPS analysis of Ag/Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> nanocomposites revealed the presence of additional metallic Ag. Photocatalytic activities of the Ag/Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> nanocomposites were evaluated by determining the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light radiation. In this research, the 10 wt% Ag/Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> nanocomposites showed the best photocatalytic activity. The results suggest that the dispersion of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of Bi<inf>2</inf>MoO<inf>6</inf> significantly enhances its photocatalytic activity.