Fe (III)-grafted Bi2MoO6 nanoplates for enhanced photocatalytic activities on tetracycline degradation and HMF oxidation

Fe (III)-grafted Bi2MoO6 nanoplates (Fe (III)/BMO) with varying small quantity of Fe (III) clusters modification were fabricated through a simple hydrothermal and impregnation process. The characterization results indicate that the modification of Fe (III) clusters on the surface of Bi2MoO6 nanoplates with intimate interfacial contact is beneficial to the expansion of visible light absorption range and the separation of photoinduced carriers during the interface charge transfer process. The photocatalytic properties of the samples were studied by degradation of tetracycline (TC) and selective aerobic oxidation of biomass-derived chemical 5-hydroxymethylfuraldehyde (HMF) under visible light. The 1.5 wt% Fe (III) clusters-grafted Bi2MoO6 nanoplates exhibited optimum photocatalytic activity, which is the TC degradation kinetic rate constant is 5.3 times higher than that of bare BMO, and the highest HMF conversion of 32.62% can be obtained with a selectivity of 95.30%. Furthermore, a possible visible light photocatalysis mechanism over Fe (III)/BMO sample has been proposed. This study may supply some insight for the development of visible-light-driven Bi2MoO6-based photocatalysts applicable to both environmental remediation and biomass-derived chemical transformation.