Epitaxial growth of metastable phase α-Ag2MoO4 on WO3 surface: Visible light-driven photocatalysis, sterilization, and reaction mechanism

Publication date: 25 January 2020Source: Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Volume 814Author(s): Rui Guo, Guannan Han, Aiguo Yan, Yan He, Na Su, Xuanwen Liu, Tingfeng YiAbstractThe metastable α-Ag2MoO4 was usually prepared under high pressure conditions, but it was successfully prepared by epitaxial growth on WO3 nanosheets at room temperature under normal pressure in this work. The interfacial structure of α-Ag2MoO4/WO3 (AW) was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and Raman spectra to explain the process of phase transformation from the β phase to the α phase. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue and Escherichia coli. The results indicate that AW-60 exhibits the best photocatalytic activity. The enhancement in photocatalytic performance is mainly due to the photogenerated electron flow between the components from WO3 to Ag2MoO4 in AW-60. The initial inactivation of E. coli is due to the decomposition of macromolecules with a typical mass range m/z of 2–7 kDa. The corresponding photocatalytic mechanism was proposed and confirmed by the measurements, such as BET, fluorescence spectrum, free radical trapping and the ζ potential of WO3 and AW-60.
Source: Journal of Alloys and Compounds - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research