SrMoO4:0.1Eu/SiO2 Nanocomposites with High Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

Mono-dispersed and uniform SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles have been synthesized using a thermal decomposition technique. The prepared SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles have narrower size distribution than the particles synthesized previously using other preparation techniques. In order to improve the photocatalytic performance of SrMoO4-based materials, the SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles were also diluted in an amorphous SiO2 matrix with different concentrations of SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles. Although crystalline SiO2 is an insulator and has no photocatalytic activity due to its intrinsic properties, the results suggested that the current SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles diluted in amorphous SiO2 exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance in the degradation process of methyl blue. Large absorption in the visible and ultraviolet light was observed by the UV–vis absorbance spectra. The smallest energy gap in these samples was found to be 2.0 eV. In particular, the photodegradation efficiency of methyl blue over SrMoO4-based samples was up to about 88% in 60 min when the quantitative ratio of SrMoO4:0.1Eu and SiO2 was fixed to be 1:2, respectively. By synthesizing the undiluted and SiO2 diluted SrMoO4:0.1Eu samples, this work provides an effective technique to improve the photocatalytic activity of SrMoO4-based materials, especially SrMoO4:0.1Eu nanoparticles.