Abstract
Graphene wrapped BiVO4 (GW-BiVO4) photocatalyst is successfully synthesized via facile sol–gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The morphology of GW-BiVO4 looks like a human embryo embedded inside the amniotic sac. The photocatalytic performance of GW-BiVO4 for the decolorization of methylene blue is investigated. GW-BiVO4 system reveals enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue in water under visible light irradiation as compare to pure BiVO4 catalyst and BiVO4 decorated on graphene sheet (GD-BiVO4). The experimental result shows that the wrapping of the graphene sheets in this composite catalyst enhances the photocatalytic performance under visible light. This enhance activity is mainly attributed to the effective quenching of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs which confirmed by photoluminescence spectra. Trapping experiments of radicals and holes were performed to detect the reactive species generated in the photocatalytic system, experimental results found that the direct hole oxidation reaction is obviously dominant during the photocatalytic reactions on the GW-BiVO4 system.
Highlights
The development of semiconductor photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutant and water splitting under solar-light is a challenging and indispensable topic
The same method was used to synthesize the pure BiVO4 without Graphene oxide (GO) and BiVO4 decorated on graphene sheet by the method reported by Ng et al To prepare GW-BiVO4 composite, reductions GO was carried out under visible light in ethanol as reported [20]
Characterization GW-BiVO4 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), DRS, and PL techniques
Summary
The development of semiconductor photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutant and water splitting under solar-light is a challenging and indispensable topic. TiO2, the widely used photocatalyst, is only active under UV light irradiation due to its wide bandgap (3.20 eV) [1,2,3,4]. The development of visible-light responsive photocatalysts for environmental remediation has become an active research area in recent years. To resolve this problem, the doping of TiO2 by metal and non metal has received a lot of attention. The doping of TiO2 by metal and non metal has received a lot of attention These dopant works as recombination center between photogenerated carriers which make them unsuitable for commercial application.
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