Synthesis of novel flower-like PtCo–Bi2MoO6 photocatalysts with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

A novel PtCo/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by loading PtCo alloy nanoparticles via a simple polyol reduction method. The as-prepared PtCo/Bi2MoO6 composite exhibits an enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of RhB under visible-light irradiation. Among various PtCo/Bi2MoO6 composites with different contents of PtCo, the 1 wt% PtCo–Bi2MoO6 sample shows the highest photocatalytic activity and its degradation constant is 5 times higher than that of pure Bi2MoO6. Through photocatalytic experiments, the fabricated PtCo/Bi2MoO6 composite demonstrated that it can efficiently promote the separation efficiency. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirm the composition of the PtCo alloy in the composite catalysts. TOC measurement also suggests that RhB is easily mineralized. SPS measurements illustrate that the high activity of PtCo–Bi2MoO6 could be attributed to its better ability to grab photoexcited electrons compared with Pt–Bi2MoO6. Based on experimental results, we propose a possible photocatalytic mechanism of PtCo–Bi2MoO6, which may provide a theoretical basis for future research.