Hydrothermal synthesis of CdS/Bi₂MoO₆ heterojunction photocatalysts with excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The novel CdS/Bi₂MoO₆ heterojunction were synthesized for the first time via a two-step hydrothermal process. • The CdS/Bi₂MoO₆ heterojunction exhibited an excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation. • The photocatalytic activity of this heterojunction also evaluated by TC, MB degradation. • The mechanism of this photocatalysis system was firstly proposed. - Abstract: A novel CdS/Bi₂MoO₆ heterojunction photocatalysts were successfully prepared via two-step hydrothermal methods. The prepared samples were characterized by various physicochemical techniques, such as XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, UV–vis and PL. The obtained samples exhibited highly photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of the different kinds of organic dyes and tetracycline in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The optimum photocatalytic efficiency of CdS-2 sample for the degradation rhodamine B (RhB) was about 25.3 and 3.7 times higher than that of individual CdS and Bi₂MoO₆, respectively. In addition, the possible photocatalytic mechanism was analyzed by different active species trapping experiments. The results indicated that the h⁺ and ·O₂⁻ were the main active species for the photocatalytic degradation of RhB. Moreover, the prepared sample shows good stability and recyclability properties which are beneficial for its practical application.