In-situ construction of Bi2S3/Bi2MoO6 hollow microsphere with regulable oxygen vacancies for full-spectrum photocatalytic performance

Novel Bi2S3/Bi2MoO6 hollow microsphere composites with oxygen vacancies were successfully synthesized through in-situ anion exchange and hydrothermal method. After introducing sulfur into the Bi2MoO6 substrate with oxygen vacancies, Bi2S3 was close distributed on the surface of the Bi2MoO6 hollow microsphere to form Bi2S3/Bi2MoO6 heterojunctions and led to inducing the more oxygen vacancies. Compared to pristine Bi2MoO6 and Bi2S3, the Bi2S3/Bi2MoO6-0.03 exhibited higher photocatalytic efficiency toward Rhodamine B (RB) degradation under the full-spectrum (visible and near-infrared) light illumination. Meanwhile, it showed high near-infrared photocatalytic activity for antibiotics. The enhanced catalytic performance was attributed to the synergetic effect of heterojunction and the oxygen vacancies between Bi2MoO6 and Bi2S3. Meanwhile, the active species were carefully investigated by the active species capture tests and the electron spin resonance technique. Finally, the reasons for the improved photocatalytic performance and reaction mechanism were also uncovered in detail, and degradation products obtained by N-de-ethylation by the cleavage of CN of RB were demonstrated. The findings in this work provide insight into the potential applications in treating wastewater.