Surface modification of Bi2MoO6 by carbon spheres for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction represents a green and sustainable approach for the resource utilization of carbon dioxide. In this study, carbon sphere (CS)-modified Bi 2 MoO 6 composites with rich oxygen vacancies (OVs) were successfully fabricated via a solvothermal method. The inherent OVs of Bi 2 MoO 6 provide active sites and regulate electronic structure, while the introduced CS further promote the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers and enrich the surface density of OVs on Bi 2 MoO 6 . The synergistic effect between intrinsic OVs and exogenous CS significantly improves the photocatalytic CO 2 reduction activity of Bi 2 MoO 6 . Under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), the CO production rate over the 0.32% C/Bi 2 MoO 6 catalyst reaches 0.68 μmol·h −1 ·g −1 , which is 12.6 times of that on the reference Bi 2 MoO 6 (0.054 μmol·h −1 ·g −1 ), demonstrating improved photocatalytic activity. These results indicate that the synergistic modification of CS and OVs is a reliable strategy to realize CO 2 resource utilization over Bi 2 MoO 6 -based photocatalysts.