Facile hydrothermal synthesis and improved photocatalytic activities of Zn2+ doped Bi2MoO6 nanosheets

A novel sheet-like Zn2+ doped Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst was fabricated through a facile hydrothermal strategy. The morphologies and chemical compositions of the samples were investigated with the help of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman and FT-IR spectra. These experimental results indicated that Zn2+ ions could be incorporated into the crystal lattices of Bi2MoO6 and substituted the Bi3+ ions. Photocatalytic experiments revealed that the as-obtained Zn2+ doped Bi2MoO6 nanosheets possessed excellent UV-visible light induced photocatalytic ability for the decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) molecules by comparison with undoped Bi2MoO6. The effect of some scavengers on the photocatalytic efficiency was assessed. Moreover, a possible enhancement mechanism of photocatalytic activity over Zn2+ doped Bi2MoO6 nanosheets was presented based on the systematical characterization results.