One-pot template-free synthesis of heterophase BiVO 4 microspheres with enhanced photocatalytic activity

A one-pot template-free hydrothermal method was developed for the fabrication of BiVO 4 microspheres with tetragonal-monoclinic heterophase structures. XRD and HRTEM characterization confirmed the formation of the heterophase structure. It was found that the molar ratio of Bi/V and hydrothermal time...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inRSC advances Vol. 5; no. 68; pp. 54882 - 54889
Main Authors Hu, Yin, Li, Danzhen, Sun, Fuqian, Wang, Huibin, Weng, Yaqing, Xiong, Wei, Shao, Yu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 2015
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:A one-pot template-free hydrothermal method was developed for the fabrication of BiVO 4 microspheres with tetragonal-monoclinic heterophase structures. XRD and HRTEM characterization confirmed the formation of the heterophase structure. It was found that the molar ratio of Bi/V and hydrothermal time were critical parameters in the yield of the spherical morphology and heterophase structure. Benefiting from the unique morphology and existence of the heterophase, the as-prepared BiVO 4 microspheres exhibited improved efficiency for RhB degradation in comparison with pure monoclinic scheelite-type BiVO 4 and tetragonal zircon-type BiVO 4 . EPR and TA-PL techniques proved that the photoinduced active species were involved in the photocatalytic degradation of RhB. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the more effective separation of photogenerated carriers generated in the heterophase BiVO 4 system, as evidenced by electrochemical measurements.
ISSN:2046-2069
2046-2069
DOI:10.1039/C5RA09785A