Highly Efficient Visible Light Photocatalytic Activities in Self-Assembled Metastable TiO2/Bi4MoO9Heterojunctions

Authors

Guoli Fang, University of New South Wales, North Minzu University
Jia Liu, North Minzu University
Xianghui Yan, North Minzu University
Danyang Wang, University of New South Wales
Jahanzaib Israr, University of WollongongFollow
Tong Xue, North Minzu University

RIS ID

129870

Publication Details

Fang, G., Liu, J., Yan, X., Wang, D., Israr, J. & Xue, T. (2018). Highly Efficient Visible Light Photocatalytic Activities in Self-Assembled Metastable TiO2/Bi4MoO9Heterojunctions. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 5 (20), 1800844-1-1800844-9.

Abstract

Metastable TiO₂/Bi₄MoO₉ heterojunctions are synthesized using a hydrothermal method. TiO₂ nanoparticles, which are used as templates in the hydrothermal process, can induce the heterogeneous nucleation and 1D preferential growth of Bi₄MoO₉ to form TiO₂/Bi₄MoO₉ heterojunctions. The TiO₂/Bi₄MoO₉ heterojunctions exhibit very efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity, which is much higher than those of TiO₂ nanoparticles, Bi₄MoO₉ microcubes, and TiO₂/Bi₂MoO₆ composites. This could be mainly ascribed to the synergistic effects of the band structure matching and the unique microstructure between TiO₂ nanoparticles and Bi₄MoO₉ nanobelts in the heterojunctions. The Bi₄MoO₉ nanobelts with ≈150 nm in width promote the production of photogenerated electron-hole pairs due to its narrow bandgap. The TiO₂ nanoparticles embedded into Bi₄MoO₉ nanobelts still remain small size, large specific surface area, and high crystallinity. These not only facilitate the transfer of photogenerated holes from Bi₄MoO₉ nanobelts to TiO₂ nanoparticles, but also improve the holes capture rate on the surface of the heterojunctions.