Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2013, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (08): 1771-1777.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201305131

• CATALYSIS AND SURFACE SCIENCE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Controllable Synthesis and Photocatalytic Activity of Spherical, Flowerlike and Threadlike Bismuth Vanadates

LIN Xue1, YU Li-Li1, Yan Li-Na1, GUAN Qing-Feng2, Yan Yong-Sheng3, ZHAO Han1   

  1. 1 College of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Preparation and Application of Environmentally Friendly Materials of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, Jilin Province, P. R. China;
    2 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China;
    3 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China
  • Received:2013-01-29 Revised:2013-05-10 Published:2013-07-09
  • Contact: LIN Xue E-mail:jlsdlinxue@126.com
  • Supported by:

    The project was supported by the Key Laboratory of Preparation and Application of Environmentally Friendly Materials of the Ministry of Education of China and Science Development Project of Jilin Province, China (20130522071JH).

Abstract:

Spherical, flowerlike, and threadlike bismuth vanadates (BiVO4) were synthesized via a controllable hydrothermal method without using any surfactant or template. The optical and photocatalytic properties of the BiVO4 samples were investigated. The phase structures of the BiVO4 samples were observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), which indicated that the as-prepared samples possessed monoclinic cells. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations showed that BiVO4 crystals with different morphologies were fabricated simply by manipulating the parameters of the hydrothermal reaction. On the basis of the structural analysis of samples obtained under different conditions, a possible mechanism for the formation of these distinct morphologies was proposed. UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS) of the samples revealed that the band gaps of the BiVO4 photocatalysts were about 2.19-2.33 eV. The as-prepared BiVO4 photocatalysts exhibited higher photocatalytic activities toward the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation (λ>420 nm) than commercial P25 TiO2 and traditional N-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2). Spherical BiVO4 showed the highest photocatalytic activity of the samples, decolorizing up to 100% of RhB upon visible light irradiation for 180 min. The reason for the different photocatalytic activities of the BiVO4 samples fabricated at different pH was systematically studied by considering their structure and morphology.

Key words: BiVO4, Microsphere, Microflower, Microwire, Controllable synthesis, Photocatalytic degradation