journal article·2026-07-04Open access

Low Temperature Synthesis of Ag2MoO4/BiOCl Heterojunctions with Oxygen Vacancies for Improved Pollutant Degradation

Shuai Fu, Wanyu Pu, Qiang Huang, Huijie Zhu, Junhong Bie, Qi Liu, Bei Zang, Zhixi Zhao, Ying Wang, Hongqiang Wang

Crystals· Volume 16· Issue 7

Abstract

The Z-scheme Ag2MoO4/BiOCl heterojunction with oxygen vacancies was successfully fabricated at a low temperature via a simple in situ precipitation method. The morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of the Ag2MoO4/BiOCl heterojunction were systematically examined. The optimized synthesized Ag2MoO4/BiOCl heterojunction achieved a removal rate of 80.44% for ciprofloxacin within 180 min of simulated solar irradiation, which was 3.27 and 1.90 times higher than that of pure Ag2MoO4 and BiOCl, respectively. The fabricated Z-scheme heterojunction and oxygen vacancies optimize the electron transfer route, enhancing the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. Moreover, the active species trapping experiments and ESR analyses demonstrated that holes were the primary reactive species involved in the photocatalytic process. It was hypothesized that the Ag2MoO4/BiOCl heterojunction adhered to a Z-scheme mechanism for charge transfer. The straightforward approach opened up novel avenues for the synthesis of efficient BiOCl-based photocatalysts aimed at environmental remediation.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques · TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells · Copper-based nanomaterials and applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Henan Key Laboratory of Green Building Materials Manufacturing and Intelligent Equipment, School of Intelligent Construction and Civil Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China

Henan Engineering Research Center of Water Quality Safety in the Middle-Lower Yellow River, Henan Green Technology Innovation Demonstration Base, Luoyang 471023, China

School of Environmental Science, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China

College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi 830000, China

School of Ecology and Environment, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China

School of Resource & Environment and Safety Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China

Funding

National Nature Science Foundation of China · Key research and development Project of Henan province · Natural Science Foundation of Henan · 2025 Henan Housing & Urban-Rural Development S&T Project

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