Photocatalytic removal of nitric oxide by Bi2Mo3O12 prepared by co-precipitation method

• The simple co-precipitation method produces an efficient photocatalyst for NO removal.
• Bi2Mo3O12 shows high photocatalytic activity for NO removal.
• A possible mechanism of photoxidation of NO by Bi2Mo3O12 is proposed.

Bi2Mo3O12 oxide was prepared by co-precipitation method at 250 °C. The successful formation of the oxide was determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and its physical properties were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and adsorption–desorption N2 isotherms (BET). Bi2Mo3O12 sample was composed of agglomerates of primary particles with faces and edges well defined. The oxide exhibited excellent performance for the removal of nitric oxide (NO) from air, reaching a percentage remove of 88.9% in steady state under UVA light irradiation. The synergetic effect between Bi2Mo3O12 and Bi2MoO6 phases was also investigated for this reaction. The results indicated that Bi2MoO6 is less active than Bi2Mo3O12 for the photocatalytic removal of NO under same experimental conditions.

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