Investigating the preparation of Cu3Mo2O9 as a photocatalyst

The structural formation of copper molybdate was investigated using a surfactant added during the preparation. The calcined materials were confirmed by XRD to be Cu3Mo2O9 and the absorbance band-gap was calculated to be ca. 2 eV. The addition of surfactant resulted in a platelet morphology, in contrast to the agglomerated particles of the standard preparation. Photocatalytic degradation over the catalysts was investigated with indigo carmine. The Cu3Mo2O9 catalysts were able to degrade the dye under irradiated conditions. However, the catalyst prepared with surfactant were not as active, although, surface decoration by Cu species was greatly reduced.