Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of Bi2MoO6 nanoparticles prepared via a water-in-oil microemulsion method

Monodispersed spherical Bi2MoO6 precursors with particle sizes about 20-40 nm were successfully obtained by a water-in-oil microemulsion technique. Well-crystallized Bi2MoO6 photocatalysts were fabricated in control by calcined precursors at different temperatures. The particles were characterized by thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The synthesized particles were evaluated as photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. As-prepared Bi2MoO6 photocatalysts exhibited superior photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. The highest MB degrading efficiency of 97.6% in 120min under visible-light irradiation was observed for the sample calcined at 450 degrees C. Moreover, the degradation kinetics of MB were in good agreement with pseudo-first-order kinetics.