Novel visible-light-responsive rGO-ZnO@Bi2MoO6 nanocomposite with enhanced light harvesting and Z-scheme charge transfer for photodegradation and detoxification of RhB

The visible light activated rGO-ZnO@Bi2MoO6 nanocomposites were prepared using an innovative two-step solvothermal process. XRD patterns, Raman and FT-IR spectra of rGO-ZnO@Bi2MoO6 samples confirmed the simultaneous presence of the ZnO and Bi2MoO6 components, as well as, a partial reduction of GO in the presence of ethylene glycol under solvothermal process. A significant red shift in absorption edge and remarkable reduction in PL peak intensity were detected by incorporating of Bi2MoO6 and rGO in prepared nanocomposites. The complete degradation and 79% mineralization of RhB dye was attained by rGO modified ZnO@Bi2MoO6 within 150 min under visible-light irradiation. The removal efficiency was increased from 36% for bare ZnO to 64% for ZnO@Bi2MoO6 nanocompoite. In addition, the cytotoxicity of untreated and visible light/ZBMO-GO5-treated RhB solutions assessed using the skin fibroblast cells (Hu02) confirmed that treating wastewater in the developed photoreactor under visible light illumination could significantly improve the toxcity effect of RhB.