Synergistic effects of MoO2 nanosheets and graphene-like C3N4 for highly improved visible light photocatalytic activities

A novel molybdenum dioxide nanosheet/graphene-like carbon nitride (MoO2/GL-C3N4) composite was fabricated by facile solvothermal process. The new-type 2D/2D structured GL-C3N4-based hybrid with compact interfacial contact distinctly showed high and stable performance for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, sufficient interfaces, plentiful intrinsic active sites and shortened path of electron transport can be provided, which play a vital role in improving separation efficiency of hole-electron pairs, triggering promotional photocatalytic performance of GL-C3N4. Notably, MoO2/GL-C3N4 composites with 2% MoO2 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, approximately 4.2 times as high as monomer GL-C3N4. It was the remarkable synergistic effect of Mo-N chemical bond between MoO2 nanosheets and GL-C3N4 that highly improved the visible light photocatalytic activity of hybrids for RhB decomposition.