Fabrication of WO3/Bi2MoO6 heterostructures with efficient and highly selective photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

Abstract

Antibiotic pollution is one of the major issues confronting human. The photocatalytic technology has been focused due to its energy conservation and environmental protection. However, semiconductor photocatalysts have some problems, such as low light utilization, carrier recombination and so on. Constructing a heterojunction can effectively solve these problems. Herein, a new heterostructure of WO₃/Bi₂MoO₆ with core-shell structure were successfully synthesized. The properties of the heterojunction were fully characterized. Subsequently, the visible light catalytic effect of the complex was studied by degrading antibiotics. Compared with other antibiotics, this heterojunction has the best photocatalytic degradation effect on tetracycline hydrochloride. The photodegradation efficiency for tetracycline hydrochloride of complex is 157 times and 5 times than that of pure WO₃ and Bi₂MoO₆ respectively. This is due to the combination of materials that promotes the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, and extends their lifetime. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism is proposed.

Keywords: Core-shell structure; Heterojunction; Photodegradation; WO(3)/Bi(2)MoO(6).