Solvothermal synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production of Bi/Bi2MoO6 co-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays

Bi/Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 NTs photocatalysts were synthesized on the basis of TiO 2 NTs by a solvothermal method using glucose as the reducing agent. The removal of organic dyes such as RhB and MB and heavy metal ions like Cr(VI) were used to simulate industrial wastewater for the photocatalytic activity assessment of Bi/Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 NTs. Na 2 S/Na 2 SO 3 solution was used as sacrificial agent to study the photocatalytic hydrogen generation performance of samples. The results showed that Bi 3+ was successfully reduced to metal Bi and deposited on the surface of Bi 2 MoO 6 . The removal efficiencies of RhB, MB and Cr(VI) reached 73.21%, 92.98% and 70.54%, respectively, which confirmed the excellent photocatalytic activity of samples. The photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of the sample was also remarkable and the hydrogen generation rate reached 173.41 μmol·h −1 ·cm −2 . The active species and photocatalytic mechanism of pollutant degradation and hydrogen generation were proposed based on the photoelectrochemical data. The excellent photocatalytic performances of Bi/Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 NTs will exhibit prospective guidance for the preparation and photocatalytic water splitting of bismuth-based photocatalysts.