Development of Bi <sub>2</sub> O <sub>3</sub> /MoSe <sub>2</sub> mixed nanostructures for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye
M. Alahmadi, Wael H. Alsaedi, W. S. Mohamed, Hassan M.A. Hassan, Mohammed Ezzeldien, Ahmed M. Abu‐Dief
Abstract
Herein, we demonstrate the sample and low coast hydrothermal synthesis of a nanocomposite of Bi2O3/MoSe2 for hybrid photocatalyst. The structure of as-synthesized samples was characterized by using several techniques, including XRD spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, SEM, BET, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. The nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements show that the samples have a mesoporous texture with slits like pores. The Bi2O3/MoSe2 nanocomposite had BET surface areas of 36.439 m2/g, which were more than those of Bi2O3 (18.342 m2/g) and MoSe2 (12.923 m2/g). Under visible illumination, the photocatalytic activities of pure samples ( Bi2O3 and MoSe2) and the hybrid Bi2O3/MoSe2 sample for the disintegration of methylene blue were assessed. The results show that the Bi2O3/MoSe2 sample showed the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency (i.e. 96.5% after an exposure time of 80 min). The increased photocatalytic activity is due to the mixed sample's high crystallinity and surface area, as well as the small particle size.