Hydrothermal preparation and photocatalytic properties of visible light driven AgBr/BiVO₄ nanocomposite

ABSTRACT

AgBr/BiVO₄ photocatalysts with heterojunction structures were prepared using a hydrothermal method. To analyse phase composition and microstructure, samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Photoluminescence measurements were used to characterise the recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The phase structure, chemical state and optical properties of heterojunctions were analysed by UV-visible diffuse-reflectance spectrometry. AgBr/BiVO₄ showed high efficiency for the degradation of rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. Hydrothermal temperature and pH values exhibited significant influence on band gap energy and the recombination rate of electron–hole pairs of AgBr/BiVO₄, reflective of photocatalytic properties. Results show that at 160°C and pH of 7 AgBr/BiVO₄ achieved the best photocatalytic activity, for which the visible light-absorption range of the AgBr/BiVO₄ heterojunction was significantly enhanced. Photodegradation catalysis of RhB was most efficiently achieved at a level of approximately 56.72% for a reaction time of 140 min.

KEYWORDS:

• AgBr/BiVO₄
• photocatalytic activity
• hydrothermal temperature
• pH

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Fund of China (Grant No. 51772099, 51572069, 51872091), Scientific and Technological Research Projects of Colleges and Universities in Hebei Province (QN2019049), the Doctoral Initiation Fund (BS2017025) and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students of North China University of Science and Technology.