Preparation of a AgCl/PbMoO4 Composite and Investigation of Its Photocatalytic Oxidative Desulfurization Performance

PbMoO4 materials were synthesized by the glycerol and hydrothermal methods, and AgCl nanoparticles were loaded onto the surface of PbMoO4 by using the precipitation-deposition method. Finally, a AgCl/PbMoO4 photocatalyst was successfully prepared. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis-DRS) were used to characterize the phase composition, morphology, and light absorption characteristics of the catalyst. An n-octane solution of dibenzothiophene (DBT) was used to simulate fluid catalytic cracking to make gasoline. The photocatalytic oxidation performance of DBT under visible light was studied in terms of the type of light source as well as of the catalyst, substrate, and AgCl content. The mechanism of photocatalytic oxidation was also studied. The results show that AgCl loading causes a red shift of the absorption edge of PbMoO4, which improves the photocatalytic activity of the material. When the AgCl loading was 25.0%, the amount of catalyst was 1.5 g/L, and the visible light irradiation time was 2.0 h, the highest desulfurization rate of DBT reached 97.0%.