Open AccessHierarchical BiVO 4 micro/nanostructures synthesised via a solvothermal route and photodegradation of Rhodamine B
Author(s) -
Ma Lin,
Xu LiMei,
Zhang LingLing
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
micro and nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1750-0443
DOI - 10.1049/mnl.2014.0128
Subject(s) - photodegradation , materials science , rhodamine b , solvothermal synthesis , transmission electron microscopy , chemical engineering , bismuth vanadate , ethylene glycol , photocatalysis , nanostructure , scanning electron microscope , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , nanotechnology , microstructure , organic chemistry , chemistry , catalysis , composite material , engineering
Various bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) hierarchical micro/nanostructures with cocoon‐like, flower‐like and branch‐like morphologies were successfully synthesised by a facile template‐free solvothermal approach. The as‐synthesised products were characterised by X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high‐resolution TEM, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The experimental results indicate that the volume ratio of ethylene glycol to water has a remarkable influence on the morphologies and microstructures of the obtained products. An oriented aggregation process is presented to account for the formation of the hierarchical BiVO 4 micro/nanostructures in the current synthetic condition. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of the obtained BiVO 4 products under visible‐light irradiation was initially evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B.