2D/0D Bi2MoO6 nanosheets/BN quantum dots photocatalysts with enhanced charge separation for efficient elimination of antibiotic

Highlights: • 2D/0D Bi₂M_oO₆/BNQDs heterojunctions with intensified charge separation were prepared. • BNQDs act as efficient hole extractors to hinder electron-hole recombination. • Enhanced visible light photocatalytic TC elimination over 2D/0D Bi₂M_oO₆/BNQDs. • Reaction mechanisms of enhanced photocatalytic activities were proposed. Photocatalytic activity is mainly limited by recombination of photogenerated carriers and insufficient active sites, which would restrain the efficiency of photocatalytic redox reactions. Herein, 2D/0D heterojunctions of Bi₂MoO₆ nanosheets/BN quantum dots (BM/BNQDs) were prepared via a simple hydrothermal method, which exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance for the tetracycline (TC) degradation under visible-light irradiation. Combing small-size BNQDs in the average diameter of ~ 5 nm with BM nanosheets displayed tremendous advantages such as rapid charge transport and sufficient active sites. Notably, the as-synthesized BNQDs acting as the photoinduced hole extractors effectively dispersed photogenerated holes and electrons, facilitating the apparent rate constant exhibited by the BM/2BNQDs catalyst 3.1 times that of pure BM. Moreover, PL and electrochemical test results indicated that the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers were enhanced after introducing BNQDs in BM nanosheets. And this work is expected to provide design ideas and insights for the development of efficient photocatalysts based on 2D/0D nanocomposites.