Preparation and study of Z-type heterojunction composite photocatalytic material with Ag2MoO4-modified rosette-like Bi2WO6 with Ag-SPR-promoting effect

Here, the novel Ag 2 MoO 4 /Bi 2 WO 6 (AMO/BWO) heterojunction composite photocatalysts were synthesized based on the combination (co-precipitation method + hydrothermal method) XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, UV–Vis DR spectroscopy, PL spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, as well as EIS analyses were employed to characterize the photocatalysts, and photocurrent response was utilized to confirme the formation of Z-type heterojunction. The generation and transfer of electron/holes in the AMO/BWO heterojunctions excited by simulated sunlight were analyzed. Under simulated sunlight, the photocatalytic performance of AMO/BWO composites were studied by degradation of organic pollutants. The experimental results show that the 30 wt% AMO@BWO is the best photocatalytic composite material among all samples and the degradation rate reached 98.6%. Due to the prolonging of lifetime of the photoexcited electrons in the CB of AMO and holes in the VB of BWO, these carriers are more effective to participate in photodegradation reactions. An electron/hole transfer mechanism of the Z-scheme heterojunctions is proposed to illustrate the enhanced photodegradation performance of the AMO/BWO composite samples.