CO 2 photoreduction to CO/CH 4 over Bi 2 W 0.5 Mo 0.5 O 6 solid solution nanotubes under visible light.

In this work, Bi 2 W 0.5 Mo 0.5 O 6 solid solution nanotubes have been synthesized through a structure-directing hard template approach, which demonstrated greatly enhanced CO 2 photoreduction to CO/CH 4 . The crystalline phase, components and morphologies of the as-prepared composites were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The present design of Bi 2 W 0.5 Mo 0.5 O 6 solid solution nanotubes leads to remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activities with a peak CO/CH 4 production rate of 6.55/3.75 mmol g -1 h -1 under visible light irradiation at room temperature, which was about 7 times that on pure Bi 2 WO 6 and Bi 2 MoO 6 nanotubes, respectively. Hollow nanotubular structures and synergistic electronic effects of various elements contribute to the enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of Bi 2 W 0.5 Mo 0.5 O 6 solid solution nanotubes.