Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic application of H3PW12O40/BiVO4 composite photocatalyst

A series of H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/BiVO₄ composite with different H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ loadings were prepared using a hydrothermal and impregnation method. The prepared composites were characterized by XRD, Raman, SEM, XPS, and DRS techniques. The bandgap of the composite was narrower compared with the as-prepared pure BiVO₄. As a novel photocatalytic material, the photocatalytic performance of the H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/BiVO₄ composite was investigated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye solution under visible light irradiation and compared with that of pure BiVO₄. The results revealed that the introduction of H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ could improve the photocatalytic performance and different concentrations of H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ resulted in different photocatalytic activities. The highest activity was obtained by the sample with a loading HPW concentration of 10 wt%. The reason for the enhanced photocatalytic activities of H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/BiVO₄ samples was also discussed in this paper. Moreover, the H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/BiVO₄ composites retained the catalytic activity after four repeated experiments.