Photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds by PbMoO4 synthesized by a microwave-assisted solvothermal method

Abstract

The microwave-assisted solvothermal (PbMH) and conventional solvothermal (PbH) synthesis were successfully used to prepare PbMoO4 particles with different morphologies, crystallinity degree and particle size. The material was structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), their morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The textural and optical properties were analyzed by adsorption–desorption N2 isotherms (BET), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of PbMoO4 particles was evaluated by degradation of indigo carmine (IC), orange G (OG), tetracycline (TC), salicylic acid (SA) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) compounds in aqueous solution under UV–vis light irradiation. The PbMH sample showed the highest photocatalytic activity reaching half-life times (t1/2) of 6, 7, 18, 75 and 125min for TC, CIP, IC, SA and OG. Moreover, PbMoO4 samples were evaluated in the H2 production from aqueous solutions using ethanol as sacrificial agent. The results showed that the PbH sample has the highest photocatalytic activity for hydrogen generation probably attributed to its high crystallinity degree.