Enhancement of Photocatalytic Degradation Performance Under Visible-Light by the Construction of Heterogeneous Structures of Bivo4-G/Fto Worm-Like Bilayer Films

Abstract

BiVO4 has garnered significant interest as a semiconductor photocatalytic material for water pollution abatement due to its relatively narrow band gap, high abundance, and environmental friendliness. Unfortunately, rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers and low recyclability limited its effects in pollutant degradation. In this work, BiVO4-G/FTO bilayer films were prepared by depositing graphene-modified (G) wormlike monoclinic scheelite-type BiVO4-G onto the FTO (SnO2:F) substrates. Compared with conventional powder or bulk BiVO4-based photocatalytic materials, the constructed BiVO4-G/FTO heterostructure can effectively inhibit the rapid recombination of BiVO4photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Meanwhile, unique graphene-modified wormlike microscopic morphology increases the number of catalytic sites and the specific surface area. The BiVO4-G/FTO bilayer film exhibited photocatalytic activity up to about 3.00 times that of bare BiVO4, and outstanding reusability, which offers new ideas for the design of photocatalysis.

Keywords: BiVO4, graphene, Sol-gel method, Heterogeneous structure, Photocatalytic degradation