SrMoO4:0.1Eu/SiO2 Nanocomposites with High Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light Irradiation

Mono-dispersed and uniform SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles have been synthesized using a thermal decomposition technique. The prepared SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles have narrower size distribution than the particles synthesized previously using other preparation techniques. In order to improve the photocatalytic performance of SrMoO4-based materials, the SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles were also diluted in an amorphous SiO2 matrix with different concentrations of SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles. Although crystalline SiO2 is an insulator and has no photocatalytic activity due to its intrinsic properties, the results suggested that the current SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles diluted in amorphous SiO2 exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance in the degradation process of methyl blue. Large absorption in the visible and ultraviolet light was observed by the UV-vis absorbance spectra. The smallest energy gap in these samples was found to be 2.0 eV. In particular, the photodegradation efficiency of methyl blue over SrMoO4-based samples was up to about 88% in 60 min when the quantitative ratio of SrMoO4:0.1Eu and SiO2 was fixed to be 1:2, respectively. By synthesizing the undiluted and SiO2 diluted SrMoO4:0.1Eu samples, this work provides an effective technique to improve the photocatalytic activity of SrMoO4-based materials, especially SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles.