Mechanochemical homodisperse of Bi2MoO6 on Zn-Al LDH matrix to form Z-scheme heterojunction with promoted visible-light photocatalytic performance

In this work, a Z-scheme Bi2MoO6/Zn-Al LDH heterojunction photocatalyst with excellent visible light responsiveness was fabricated via a two-step mechanochemical ball-milling process, where amorphous Bi2MoO6 particles were homodispersed upon the surface of lamellar LDH matrix. BPA was selected as the targeted organic contaminant to quantitatively evaluate the photocatalytic capacity of Bi2MoO6/Zn-Al LDH, in which the optimal 30 wt%Bi2MoO6/LDH exhibited a degradation rate of 96% within 300 min, over 9.25 and 18.5 times higher than that of individual pristine Bi2MoO6 and LDH, respectively. The crystal structure, microtopography, interfacial physicochemical interaction, optical and electrochemical properties of as-fabricated hybrids were systematically evaluated, and the DFT theoretical calculation was used to confirm the electronic structural characteristics in the Bi2MoO6/LDH heterojunction. A possible photocatalysis reaction mechanism was interpreted through ESR where the major manner of •O2– proved the Z-scheme electron migration within matched band levels.