[en] Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • ·OH trap and hole sink were involved to investigate the active radicals. • Holes play a more important role in the degradation of RhB. • The ·OH were related to the decomposition of phenol. • The ·O₂-played a leading role in the photodegradation of phenol. • Blue LED is competitive and promising alternative for the future application. - Abstract: Bi₂MoO₆ has been reported as a promising photocatalyst in wastewater treatment. The active radicals generated over the Bi₂MoO₆ during the photocatalytic process were thought to be hydroxyl radical (·OH) but have not been proved. Herein, Bi₂MoO₆ with nanoplate like morphology was synthesized and its photocatalytic performances in the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol as colored and colorless model pollutants respectively were evaluated under the irradiation of blue light emitting diode (LED). The tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) as a ·OH trap and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a hole sink were involved to investigate the main active groups that are generated on Bi₂MoO₆ and function during the photodegradation of RhB and phenol. In addition, it is a competitive and promising alternative plan to use blue LED as light source for the future practical application in environmental remediation