CeO2/Bi2MoO6 heterostructured microspheres with synergistic effect for accelerating photogenerated charge separation

CeO 2 /Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructured microspheres were successfully synthesized through precipitation and hydrothermal method. The as-obtained samples were well characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, UV–Vis DRS and XPS. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degrading acid orange II (AO-II) under visible light irradiation. The test results show that CeO 2 /Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructured microspheres have broad absorption in the visible region and have   more superior catalytic activities than pure Bi 2 MoO 6 , which is attributed to the synergistic effect of the suitable band gap matching between CeO 2 and Bi 2 MoO 6 . Moreover, 0.1CeO 2 /Bi 2 MoO 6 composite has the highest activity. Radical scavenger experiments proves that the superoxide radical anions ( O 2 − ) and photogenerated holes (h + ) are dominating active species. The recycling experiment confirms that CeO 2 /Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructure keep high stabilization during the photocatalytic reaction. On   this   basis, a photogenerated charge carriers transfer and photocatalytic progress on the CeO 2 /Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructure has been   discussed.