In this work, BiVO4–graphene photocatalyst was prepared by a facile one-step hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activity of this compound was investigated by destruction of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The photodegradation results show that the prepared BVG compound has higher photocatalytic activity than the pure BiVO4 compound. This compound can degrade 98% of MO under visible light irradiation. This work indicates that BiVO4 compounds are excellent compounds for pollutant degradation under visible light irradiation.
In this work, composites of BiVO 4 with different contents of graphene are synthesized. Photocatalytic investigations determine that the prepared BiVO 4-graphene (BVG) nanocomposite with 0.5% of graphene has higher photocatalytic activity among the synthesized nanocomposites. The photocatalytic efficiency of BVG is 2 times higher than BiVO 4. To improve the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation, the prepared nanocomposite was photosensitized with porphyrin as strong light harvesting agent. The obtained BVG photosensitized with porphyrin (BVG-P) could completely remove methyl orange dyer in 180 min. Slab-like morphology and the incorporation of porphyrin show to be key factors in high photocatalytic activity of BVG-P.
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