Fabrication of a Dual Z-scheme Ag3PO4/g-C3N4/Bi2MoO6 Ternary Nanocomposite for Effective Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye

Methylene blue is a recognized carcinogen with detrimental effects on both people and marine life. Henceforth, in this study, the photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/g-C3N4/Bi2MoO6 (AP/GCN/BMO) photocatalyst was investigated for the degradation of MB dye from an aqueous system. g-C3N4, BMO and AP photocatalysts bare photocatalysts were synthesized via thermal polycondensation, hydrothermal and co-precipitation methods, respectively. Similarly, binary (GCN/BMO) and ternary heterojunctions (AP/GCN/BMO) was constructed through in-situ hydrothermal and co-precipitation methods, respectively. Morphological and structural analysis validated close interaction amongst Ag3PO4, g-C3N4, and Bi2MoO6 photocatalysts. Furthermore, density functional theory simulations were employed to explore the structural and electronic properties of the bare (Ag3PO4, g-C3N4, and Bi2MoO6) photocatalysts. The photocatalytic degradation experiments revealed that AP/GCN/BMO exhibited highest adsorption and photocatalytic degradation efficacy of methylene blue (MB) dye pollutant as compared to other photocatalysts. The achieved MB dye degradation efficiency of dual Z-scheme AP/GCN/BMO ternary photocatalyst was approx. 94