Structural study and photocatalytic activity of BiMeVOx materials[formula omitted

Abstract

We focused on the synthesis of copper and tantalum doped bismuth vanadate and on its photocatalytic activity. The solid-state reaction is used to synthesize Bi4V2 - xCux2Tax2O11 -3x4 where Cu2+ and Ta5+ replace the vanadium (V5+) in the in perovskite-like layers. The phase transformation from α to γ is determined by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This transformation is due to the incorporation of Cu2+ and Ta5+ in the Bi4V2O11 lattice. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the morphology, and elemental compositions of the synthesized photocatalysts. The bandgap energies of BiCuTaVOx are between 2.00 and 2.10 eV, they have been determined by using UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. How the rate of substitution between Cu2+ and Ta5+ affects photocatalytic activity was investigated. The impact of the substitutions simple and double by copper and tantalum, was then examined for Bi4V1.7Cu0.3O10.55, Bi4V1.7Ta0.3O11, and Bi4V1.7(Cu-Ta)0.3O10.775. Copper and tantalum play a synergic effect on photodegradation of Sulfamethoxazole. The effect of physical factors including the catalyst amount and pH on the photocatalytic degradation under UV–visible was studied. However, Bi4V1.7Cu0.15Ta0.15O10.775 also exhibits a photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation using 0.8 g/l of photocatalyst at pH10. The degradation reaches 65 % in the optimal conditions under visible light irradiation during 5 h.