Ion Exchange Synthesis of Bi2MoO6/BiOI Heterojunctions for Photocatalytic Degradation and Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

In this study, flower-like Bi 2 MoO 6 /BiOI heterostructure photocatalysts were synthesized via an anion exchange method using BiOI as precursor. The composition of Bi 2 MoO 6 /BiOI can be easily controlled by adjusting the MoO[Formula: see text]/I[Formula: see text] molar ratio. Photocatalytic activity studies based on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) show that Bi 2 MoO 6 /BiOI[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]50% photocatalyst exhibited the best performance under visible light excitation. The radical scavengers test demonstrated that holes was the main reactive species for the degradation of RhB, and[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] also took part in the photodecomposition process. Photoelectrochemical measurement reveals that the Bi 2 MoO 6 /BiOI[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]50% exhibit enhanced carrier densities, charge separation and photocurrent compared with the original Bi 2 MoO 6 and BiOI. Our results show that bismuth-based heterojunctions fabricated through the anion exchange method could be a cost-effective approach to improve the photocatalytic activity and photoelectrochemical performance of BiOI.