Synthesis of novel Au/FeVO4/Bi2O3 heterojunction for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis

In this paper, a novel Au/FeVO4/Bi2O3 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by the precipitation and photodeposition method. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by several techniques, such as X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis absorption spectra and photoluminescence. The transmission electron microscopy showed that the Au nanoparticles were finally dispersed on the surface of FeVO4/Bi2O3 heterojunction. The enhanced absorption in visible light region and the efficient photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation were achieved after loading of Au and FeVO4 particles on Bi2O3 photocatalysts, as revealed by UV-vis absorption spectra and photoluminescence measurement. The photocatalytic examination of the photocatalyst was carried out through decomposition of malachite green under visible-light irradiation. The Au/FeVO4/Bi2O3 photo catalyst displayed superior photocatalytic activity for degradation of malachite green. Additionally, a possible catalytic mechanism for Au/FeVO4/Bi2O3 photocatalyst was proposed. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.