High-efficiency V-Mediated Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst for PMS activation: Modulation of energy band structure and enhancement of surface reaction

High photocorrosion and poor reaction efficiency of Bi2MoO6 greatly hampered its wide application in wastewater treatment. Herein, V doped Bi2MoO6 was prepared by hydrothermal-subsequent annealing strategy for the refractory sulfapyridine abatement through visible-light-driven photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The degradation results revealed V-doped Bi2MoO6 could achieved 100% sulfapyridine removal after 20 min over Bi2MoO6/PMS/Vis system, much higher than Bi2MoO6/PMS/Vis system. Experimental and theoretical calculations indicated that the V doping not only changed the energy band structure of Bi2MoO6 and promoted the separation of photogenerated charges as well as improved the adsorption energy of peroxymonosulfate (PMS), H2O and dissolved oxygen on the catalyst surface, but also provided additional PMS activation pathway through V5+/V4+ redox cycles, finally contributed to enhanced sulfapyridine degradation performance in Bi2MoO6/PMS/Vis system. Our work provides insight into designing highly efficient photocatalyst as a promising PMS activator for environmental application.