Preparation and efficient visible light-induced photocatalytic activity of m-BiVO4 with different morphologies

The monoclinic scheelite BiVO4 crystals with peanut-like, oval, twin-quadrangle and twin-four-pointed star morphologies were synthesized via a facile one step hydrothermal method by using sodium citrate as the chelating agent. The X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were employed to elucidate the structures and mophologies of the as-prepared BiVO4 samples. The results showed that the formation of m-BiVO4 with different morphologies relied on the pH value of the precursor solution. The band gaps values (E-g) of all the BiVO4 samples were around 237-2.45 eV according to the UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum, which indicated that samples could strongly absorb in the visible light region. The photocatalytic activities of BiVO4 crystals were evaluated by degradation of MB in aqueous solution under artificial solar-light. The BiVO4 samples obtained at different pH values showed different photocatalytic activities during the sunlight-driven photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). The sample with peanut-like-shape prepared at pH=1 exhibited the highest activity, and the photocatalytic conversion could reach above 90% after 3 h of irradiation. The result suggested that m-BiVO4 with peanut-like-shape could be used as an effective photocatalyst in practical application for organic pollutants degradation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.