Construction of Ag/ CuBi2O4/ Ag2MoO4 composites for enhanced degradation of methylene blue and the proposed possible photocatalytic mechanism.

• Successful preparation of flower-shaped CuBi 2 O 4 nanorods by hydrothermal method. • The degradation efficiency of Methylene blue by Ag/ CuBi 2 O 4 / Ag 2 MoO 4 was greatly improved. • A possible mechanism for the degradation of Methylene blue (MB) was proposed. A novel Ag/ CuBi 2 O 4 / Ag 2 MoO 4 composite was successfully prepared by ion exchange as well as reduction methods. The crystal structure, surface chemical composition and micromorphology characteristics of the samples were determined by a variety of testing methods and the optical properties of all synthesized catalysts were described in detail by PL, UV–Vis DRS and SPS. The ternary Ag/ CuBi 2 O 4 / Ag 2 MoO 4 composites were superior to other samples in visible light catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB), it was mainly attributed to the interaction between CuBi 2 O 4 and Ag 2 MoO 4 and the SPR effect of Ag nanoparticles, which resulted in a significantly higher separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. Meanwhile, the degradation efficiency of MB was still maintained above 80% by three recycling experiments. Finally, a possible mechanism for photocatalytic degradation was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]