UV-assisted construction of 3D hierarchical rGO/Bi2MoO6 composites for enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation

In this study, a 3D hierarchical ternary metal oxide Bi(2)M0O(6) (BMO) microspheres coupled with layered reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite (rGO/BMO) was synthesized by a facile ultraviolet light reduction method. By means of a series of characterizations, it was found that the reduction of graphene oxide plays a key role in raising photo-induced charge carrier separation efficiency as an electron collector through the interaction between rGO and BMO. As a result, the as-prepared rGO/BMO composite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation, which is higher than that of pure BMO under simulated solar light irradiation. In addition, the photocatalytic oxidation performance for organic pollutant degradation has also been evaluated and the coupled photocatalyst displayed an improved activity over pure BMO. Thus, the strategy provides an efficient approach for the fabrication of graphene composites containing hierarchical ternary oxides for photocatalysis. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.