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Polythiophene/Bi2MoO6: A novel conjugated polymer/nanocrystal hybrid composite for photocatalysis

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Abstract

Polythiophene (PT)/Bi2MoO6 nanocomposites were synthesized by an in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method. The photo-degradation of a typical model pollutant, rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), demonstrated that the PT/Bi2MoO6 composite showed higher photocatalytic activity than bare Bi2MoO6. The good performance of the PT/Bi2MoO6 composite could be attributed to the high separation efficiency of the photo-generated charge carriers contributed by the synergic effect between PT and Bi2MoO6, as well as the high charge transfer rate due to the hole transporting ability of PT. The results may provide some insights into the design and development of other effective polymer-semiconductor photocatalysts for pollutant degradation under sunlight irradiation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51402194), the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (14YF1410700), the Shanghai Education Commission (15ZZ097), and the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning (4521ZK120053002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, 100 Haiquan Road, Shanghai, 201418, People’s Republic of China

    Zhijie Zhang, Tingting Zheng, Jiayue Xu & Haibo Zeng

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  1. Zhijie Zhang
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  2. Tingting Zheng
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  3. Jiayue Xu
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  4. Haibo Zeng
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Correspondence to Zhijie Zhang.

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Zhang, Z., Zheng, T., Xu, J. et al. Polythiophene/Bi2MoO6: A novel conjugated polymer/nanocrystal hybrid composite for photocatalysis. J Mater Sci 51, 3846–3853 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9703-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9703-8

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