Crystal Defect Engineering of Aurivillius Bi2MoO6 by Ce Doping for Increased Reactive Species Production in Photocatalysis

Crystal defects have been extensively proved to have great influence on semiconductor photocatalysis. To optimize the reactivity of crystalline photocatalysts and achieve ideal solar energy conversion, crystal defect engineering has initiated a considerable interest in real catalysts. Herein, we develop a general strategy to manufacture and mediate crystal defects in the host Bi2MoO6 lattice by varying the cerium dopant content, resulting in greatly improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance for the degradation of highly toxic nerve agent simulants (NAS) and organic dyes, as well as bacterial photoinactivation. After careful examination of crystal defect structure and charge carrier dynamics, it was proved that Ce-doping-mediated crystal defects are crucial for controlling the photocatalytic efficiency of aurivillius Bi2MoO6. More importantly, the well-engineered crystal defects not only exert a beneficial influence on the electron dynamics and band structure but also facilitate the one-electron and two-electron reactions by introducing the Ce3+/Ce4+ and Mo4+/Mo6+ redox couples, which results in a significant enhancement in reactive oxygen species (ROS) photogeneration.