A single-crystalline Bi2S3 nanowire array (Bi2S3NWA) is synthesized by an in situ hydrothermal reaction on the surface of a Bi2MoO6 film. As no additional source of Bi3+ is provided during the process, the Bi2MoO6 layer acts as the Bi3+ source for the synthesis of Bi2S3 nanowires. The fabricated Bi2MoO6/Bi2S3NWA electrode exhibited an increased photoelectrochemical (PEC) sulfite oxidation activity, which is attributed mainly to the effective interface obtained by the in situ hydrothermal growth, compared to other Bi2S3 electrodes. The generated electron from the Bi2S3 conduction band rapidly transfers to that of Bi2MoO6, yielding an enhanced electron separation of Bi2S3. Furthermore, the single-crystalline Bi2S3 nanowire can provide a fast electron pathway to Bi2MoO6 through its single domain, which also contributes to the improved PEC activity.

In this study, the reaction mechanisms of metal–semiconductor composites used as photocatalysts were demonstrated by first preparing bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) and then performing photodeposition of metal nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of metal–BiVO4 (M–BiVO4, where M = Pt, Au, Ag) composites were evaluated through dye decomposition under UV–vis irradiation. The photocatalytic efficiency was significantly enhanced after Pt deposition as compared to other M–BiVO4 composites. The size or shape of BiVO4 was not the main factor for the efficiency of Pt–BiVO4. However, a deposited Pt co-catalyst was essential for the photocatalytic decomposition of dye on the BiVO4 surface. Radical scavengers were employed to elucidate the reaction mechanism during the photocatalytic reaction with the Pt–BiVO4 composite. This study provides details on the reaction mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction on Pt at the BiVO4 surface under solar irradiation.

The effective utilization of visible light is required for exploiting photocatalytic reactions in indoor and outdoor environments. In this study, Pd-supported BiVO4 microspheres (Pd–BiVO4) were prepared for visible light-induced photocatalytic reactions. Under irradiation with a white light-emitting diode, the obtained Pd–BiVO4 composite exhibited considerably improved catalytic activity for the decomposition of an organic dye compared with other BiVO4 catalysts. The Pd–BiVO4 composite was also effective for catalytic organic transformation via the visible light-induced Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction. The photogenerated electrons in the conduction band of BiVO4 flowed to the Pd nanoparticles and amplified cross-coupling reaction. The influence of the crystal structure and grain size of BiVO4 and the role of the deposited Pd nanoparticles were fully investigated to elucidate the visible light activity of the catalyst. This system highlights the possibility of an indoor light source with low energy density for sustainable organic transformations.

BiVO 4 crystals synthesized by an ultrasonic-assisted method (Sono-BiVO 4 )s howed improved efficiency as ah eterogeneous photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation. Sono-BiVO 4 was successfully used for the CÀCbond cleavageofalkenestogenerate carbonyl compounds. Styrened erivatives were converted into carbonyl compounds in the presence of Sono-BiVO 4 under highly sustainable conditions requiring only natural sources, that is, molecular oxygen, visible light, and water at room temperature. Additionally,S ono-BiVO 4 could be easily separated from the reactionm ixture andr eused.The growing awareness for sustainable development has created much interesti nt he chemistry community towards finding sustainable methods and sources. [1] In this regard, visible light, an abundant and easily availablee nergy source, has ag reat potentialt owards driving environmentally benign chemical reactions.I nt he last decade, visible-light photocatalysis has flourished with the discoveryo fv arious photocatalysts. [2] However,r ecently homogeneous catalysis, whichr equires the use of organic dyes or metal (such as Ru, Ir,a nd Cu) complexes, has seen significant development. On the other hand, heterogeneousc atalysis remainsl argely underdevelopedd espite the notable advantages of the catalysts, such as stability andr eusability by easy separation from the reactionm ixture, which is an important consideration for industrial manufacturing processes. [3] Metal oxidess uch as TiO 2 ,Z nO, and Nb 2 O 5 are stable, inexpensive,a nd can be easily filtered from the mixture. [3a, 4] However,b ecause of their wide bandgap( large energy difference between the valancea nd conduction bands), these oxides can only function as efficient photocatalysts under UV irradiation and show an arrow substrate scopeu nder visible-light irradiation( Figure 1). [5] Given its narrower bandgap energy,b ismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 )s hows ag reat potentialf or use as a heterogeneous photocatalystt hat can be easily activated using visible-light wavelength ( % 500 nm). [6, 7] Surprisingly, BiVO 4 has rarely been used as ap hotocatalyst in organic transformations. [8] Herein, we prepared BiVO 4 crystalst oi mprove its efficiency towards organic transformations under visible-light irradiation.Ap recursor solutionc ontaining am ixture of Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ·5 H 2 O (0.2 m)a nd VCl 3 (0.2 m)w as prepared and ultrasonicated for 1h under ambient conditions (Figure 2a), resultingi na ne fficient preparation of BiVO 4 powders. The as-prepared BiVO 4 powder was annealed at 500 8Cf or 3hin air to yield crystallized BiVO 4 (denoted as Sono-BiVO 4 crystals). The acquireds canning (SEM) and transmission electronm icroscopy (TEM, inset) images confirmed the presence of highlyu niform BiVO 4 cubes with an average edge length of 426 AE 104 nm (Figures 2b). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed to obtain structural information aboutS ono-BiVO 4 and the acquired diffractogram is presented in Figure 2c.The diffraction peaks of the Sono-BiVO 4 crystalsc ould be indexed to the mo...

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