Porous F-doped BiVO4: Synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of phenol under visible-light illumination

Abstract

Fluoride-doped BiVO4 with the F/Bi molar ratios of 0, 0.09, 0.13, and 0.29 (denoted as BiVO4–F0, BiVO4–F0.09, BiVO4–F0.13, and BiVO4–F0.29, respectively) were synthesized using the hydrothermal strategy with the hydrothermally derived BiVO4 as the precursor and NH4F as the fluoride source. Physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by means of a number of analytical techniques. Photocatalytic activities of the fluoride-doped BiVO4 samples were evaluated for the degradation of phenol under visible-light irradiation. It is shown that compared to the undoped BiVO4–F0 sample, the fluoride-doped BiVO4 samples retained the monoclinic structure, but possessed higher surface areas and oxygen adspecies concentration, better light-absorbing performance, and lower bandgap energies. Among the four samples, the porous spherical BiVO4–F0.29 sample exhibited the best photocatalytic activity for the degradation of phenol in the presence of a small amount of H2O2 under visible-light illumination. It is concluded that the higher surface area and oxygen adspecies concentration, stronger optical absorbance performance, and lower bandgap energy were responsible for the excellent photocatalytic performance of BiVO4–F0.29 for the photocatalytic degradation of phenol.