Self-assembled Bi2MoO6/TiO2 nanofiber heterojunction film with enhanced photocatalytic activities

TiO2 nanofiber film (TiO2 NFF) was successfully fabricated by an ethylene glycol-assisted hydrothermal method, and then self-assembled flake-like Bi2MoO6 was grown on the surface of TiO2 nanofiber under alcohol thermal condition. The investigations indicate that the nanofiber structure of TiO2 films exhibits excellent visible light scattering property, the scattering light overlaps with the absorption band of Bi2MoO6, which can enhance the utility of incident light. The prepared Bi2MoO6/TiO2 composites show obviously enhanced photocatalytic activity for methylene blue (MB) degradation compared with pure TiO2 nanofiber under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm). The enhanced photocatalytic activity is primarily attributed to the synergistic effect of visible light absorption and effective electron-hole separation at the interfaces of the two semiconductors, which is confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) and electrochemical tests. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.