Polycrystalline BiVO4 visible-light photocatalytic activity: Rietveld refinement, microstructural, vibrational, and photocatalytic properties

Abstract

Abstract Herein, we have successfully synthesized BiVO4 photocatalysts via a simple chemical precipitation method followed by heat treatment at 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C. The samples were characterized by XRD combined with Rietveld refinement, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and UV- vis DRS. XRD results showed that we obtained monoclinic scheelite phase (m-s BiVO4) with I112/b space group. The visible–light photocatalytic activities of BiVO4 -400°C, 500°C, and 600°C for organic dye degradation (MB: methylene blue; MO: and methyl orange) were investigated, and the BiVO4 400°C showed the highest activity in the photodegradation of MB (95%) and MO (80%) after 150 min of visible illumination. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed based on radical trapping measurements and Mott–Schottky analysis.