Bi2MoO6/RGO composite nanofibers: facile electrospinning fabrication, structure, and significantly improved photocatalytic water splitting activity

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 543 - 552
• Main Authors: Zhao, Jing, Yang, Ying, Yu, Wensheng, Ma, Qianli, Dong, Xiangting, Wang, Xinlu, Wang, Jinxian, Liu, Guixia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2017
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Composite Nanofibers; Photocatalytic Water Splitting; Graphene Oxide; Photocatalytic Activity; Visible Light Irradiation
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-016-5557-3

Bi 2 MoO 6 /reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite nanofibers were successfully fabricated by calcining the electrospun polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)/RGO/[(NH 4 ) 6 Mo 7 O 24  + Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ] composite nanofibers. The products were investigated in detail by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope. The as-prepared Bi 2 MoO 6 /RGO composite nanofibers are pure orthorhombic phase with space group of Pbca, and the diameter is 132 ± 18 nm. These nanocomposite samples display high photocatalytic hydrogen production activity in aqueous solutions containing methanol as sacrificial reagent under visible light irradiation. Bi 2 MoO 6 /5 % RGO composite nanofibers used as photocatalyst for water splitting exhibit the highest H 2 evolution rate of 794.72 μmol h −1 , which is improved by 2.86 times compared to Bi 2 MoO 6 nanofibers. The enhancement of photocatalytic hydrogen production performance is due to addition of RGO, the intimate interfacial contact and large contact area between Bi 2 MoO 6 nanoparticles and RGO sheets, which help to make full use of the electron conductivity of RGO for transferring the photogenerated electrons and separating the photoproduced carriers. Therefore the electrospinning is a facile and effective technique to fabricate Bi 2 MoO 6 /RGO composite nanofibers which could take advantage of solar energy to achieve efficient H 2 -evolution from water splitting.