Impact of Preparative pH on the Morphology and Photocatalytic Activity of BiVO4. (5th July 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wan, Yongbiao; Wang, Sihong; Luo, Wenhao; Zhao, Lianhua
• Other Names: Yu Jiaguo Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of photoenergy. Volume 2012(2012)
• Publication Date: 2012-07-05
• Subjects: Photochemistry -- Periodicals; Photobiology -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Physical and theoretical -- Periodicals; Photochimie; Photobiologie; Chimie physique et théorique; Chemistry, Physical and theoretical; Photobiology; Photochemistry; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 541.35
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/392865
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1110-662X

Abstract

Abstract : Adjusting pH with an ammonia solution during the synthesis, single-crystalline BiVO4 has been prepared using Bi(NO3 )3 ·5H2 O and NH4 VO3 as starting materials through aqueous-phase precipitation at room temperature. The prepared samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The impact of pH on structure, surface morphology, visible-light photocatalytic activity, and light absorption performance of BiVO4 is explored and discussed. During the synthesis process, neither extremely acidic (low pH) nor basic (high pH) conditions are desirable for the formation of BiVO4 in monoclinic phase. The highest photocatalytic performance on the degradation of a methylene blue solution is observed under pH = 7.0 for BiVO4 in monoclinic scheelite, which is attributed to its small grain size and marked surface oxygen evolution ability.