DMF-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis of BiVO4/Bi2VO5 Heterojunction Photocatalyst with Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Resumo

An unique BiVO₄/Bi₂VO₅ heterostructure was fabricated via one-step hydrothermal method. Bi₂VO₅ was grown in BiVO₄ in situ by adding N,N-dimethylformamide during hydrothermal synthesis. The formation of BiVO₄/Bi₂VO₅ heterostructure was confirmed with XRD, XPS, HRTEM, and Raman spectra. DMF addition in the hydrothermal solvent is significant for the formation of Bi₂VO₅ nanocrystals. Photocatalytic performance displayed that BiVO₄/Bi₂VO₅ exhibited superior photocatalytic activity compared to pure BiVO₄ under visible-light irradiation. The active species trapping experiment showed that photogenerated electrons played a critical role in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in BiVO₄/Bi₂VO₅ photocatalysis system.The boosted photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the effective separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs at heterojunction BiVO₄/Bi₂VO₅ interface. Further, the wide absorption band also favors its exceptional photocatalytic activity.