Engineering bandgap energy of MoO nanorod heterostructure using AgVO for efficient photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutant.

The increasing contamination of water bodies with pharmaceutical pollutants, particularly acetaminophen, necessitates innovative and efficient remediation strategies. This study introduces a novel AgVO@MoO (AV@MoO) nanorod heterostructure synthesized via a hydrothermal process designed to enrich the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic pollutant using visible light irradiation. The bandgap energy of the optimum AV@MoO-3 heterostructure is 2.62 eV which is lower than pristine MoO nanorod (3.16 eV). The integration of AgVO into MoO effectively reduced the bandgap energy and created beneficial surface defects, significantly boosting the visible-light absorption and photocatalytic activity. The optimized AV@MoO-3 nanorod heterostructure achieved a remarkable photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 97.21% for acetaminophen, with a degradation rate constant of 0.0298 min, outperforming MoO (0.003 min) and AgVO (0.004 min) alone by factors of 9.9 and 7.4, respectively. Transient photocurrent and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses confirmed the enhanced charge separation and reduced recombination. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of bandgap engineering and defect manipulation in heterostructures and highlights the potential for advanced water purification applications.