Bi2MoO6/TiO2 heterojunction modified with Ag quantum dots: a novel photocatalyst for the efficient degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

In this study, a Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 heterojunction photocatalyst modified with Ag quantum dots was successfully synthesized. The results demonstrated that Ag–Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical performance and photocatalytic activity for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride. The catalyst had the best photocurrent density with a maximum value of 103.0 µA/cm 2 , which was 11.7 times higher than that of unmodified TiO 2 nanorods. Ag–Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 significantly increased the absorption intensity and red-shifted with a bandgap of 1.88 eV, which is substantially narrower than that of TiO 2 . Furthermore, it exhibited extremely high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride with a degradation rate of 90.8% at 120 min. A photocatalytic mechanism was proposed to explain the principle of tetracycline hydrochloride degradation using this catalyst.