Preparation of rGO/FeMoO4 as high-performance photocatalyst for degradation of malachite green, phenol and H2 evolution under natural sunlight

Abstract

FeMoO4 and rGO/FeMoO4 nanocomposites were successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. The XRD results confirmed that the FeMoO4 has a monometallic β-FeMoO4 crystalline phase while the rGO/FeMoO4 showed both monometallic α- and β-FeMoO4 phases where β-FeMoO4 is the predominant phase. The reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was performed without using any chemical reductions. UV–Vis results showed that the visible light absorption and band gap energy were enhanced after the addition of rGO. The prepared samples were successfully applied for degradation of malachite green (MG) and phenol (Ph) and for H2 evolution under natural solar light irradiation. All the nanocomposites showed higher photocatalytic activities compared with pure FeMoO4 photocatalyst, and the 10%rGO/FeMoO4 gave the highest photodegradation performance for MG and Ph and for H2 evolution. The photodegradation results revealed that the rGO content played the crucial factor in the photodegradation of MG and Ph, and H2 evolution. The mineralization (TOC), photodegradation mechanism and degradation kinetics of MG and Ph were discussed.