Photoreduction adjusted surface oxygen vacancy of Bi2MoO6 for boosting photocatalytic redox performance

In this study, Bi2MoO6 with adjustable rich oxygen vacancies was prepared by a novel and simple solvothermal-photoreduction method which might be suitable for a large-scale production. The experiment results show that Bi2MoO6 with rich oxygen vacancies is an excellent photocatalyst. The photocatalytic ability of BMO-10 is 0.3 and 3.5 times higher than that of the pristine Bi2MoO6 for Rhodamine B degradation and Cr(VI) reduction, respectively. The results display that the band energy of the samples with oxygen vacancies was narrowed and the light absorption was broadened. Meanwhile, the efficiency of photogenerated electron-holes was increased and the separation and transfer speed of photogenerated carriers were improved. Therefore, this work provides a convenient and efficient method to prepare potential adjustable oxygen vacancy based photocatalysts to eliminate the pollution of dyes and Cr(VI) in water. [graphic not available: see fulltext]