Efficient Degradation of Phenol and 4-Nitrophenol by Surface Oxygen Vacancies and Plasmonic Silver Co-Modified Bi2 MoO6 Photocatalysts

Huidong Shen; Wenwen Xue; Feng Fu; Jiefang Sun; Yanzhong Zhen; Danjun Wang; Bing Shao; Junwang Tang

doi:10.1002/chem.201804267

Efficient Degradation of Phenol and 4-Nitrophenol by Surface Oxygen Vacancies and Plasmonic Silver Co-Modified Bi₂ MoO₆ Photocatalysts

Chemistry. 2018 Dec 10;24(69):18463-18478. doi: 10.1002/chem.201804267. Epub 2018 Nov 21.

Authors

Huidong Shen¹, Wenwen Xue¹, Feng Fu¹, Jiefang Sun^{2

3}, Yanzhong Zhen¹, Danjun Wang¹, Bing Shao³, Junwang Tang²

Affiliations

¹ Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, P. R. China.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7JE, UK.
³ Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, 100013, P. R. China.

PMID: 30270469
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201804267

Abstract

In this work, the surface plasmon resonance effect of metallic Ag, surface oxygen vacancies (SOVs), and Bi₂ MoO₆ (BMO) material were rationally combined to construct new oxygen-vacancy-rich Ag/Bi₂ MoO₆ (A/BMO-SOVs) photocatalysts. Their synergistic effect on the photocatalytic degradation of phenol and 4-nitrophenol under visible-light irradiation (λ≥420 nm) was also investigated. TEM, EPR, and Raman spectra demonstrate the co-existence of metallic Ag nanoparticles, surface oxygen vacancies, and Bi₂ MoO₆ due to a controlled calcination process. The experimental results disclose that the 2 %A/BMO-SOVs-375 sample exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of both phenol and 4-nitrophenol under visible-light irradiation, achieving nearly 100 and 80 % removal efficiency, respectively, and demonstrated the apparent reaction rate constants (k_app ) 183 and 26.5 times, respectively, higher than that of pure Bi₂ MoO₆ . The remarkable photodegradation performance of A/BMO-SOVs for organic substances is attributed to the synergistic effect between the surface oxygen vacancies, metallic Ag nanoparticles, and Bi₂ MoO₆ , which not only improves the visible-light response ability, but also facilitates charge separation. Thus, this work provides an effective strategy for the design and fabrication of highly efficient photocatalysts through integrating surface oxygen vacancies and the surface plasmon resonance effect of nanoparticles, which has the potential for both water treatment and air purification.

Keywords: perovskite phases; photochemistry; surface oxygen vacancies; surface plasmon resonance; synergistic effect.

Abstract

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