High performance B doped BiVO4 photocatalyst with visible light response by citric acid complex method

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photocatalysis
• Environmental Chemistry

Background:

• Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is a promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst.
• Enhancing BiVO4's photocatalytic activity is crucial for environmental remediation.
• Doping is a common strategy to tune semiconductor properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize Boron-doped BiVO4 (B-BiVO4) photocatalysts.
• To evaluate the photocatalytic activity of B-BiVO4 for methyl orange (MO) degradation.
• To investigate the effect of Boron doping on BiVO4's structural and optical properties.

Main Methods:

• Citric acid complex method for B-BiVO4 synthesis.
• Characterization using XPS, XRD, SEM, BET, and UV-Vis DRS.
• Photocatalytic degradation experiments using MO solution under visible light.

Main Results:

• B-BiVO4 retained the monoclinic phase, similar to pure BiVO4.
• Boron doping increased V(4+) and oxygen vacancies, causing a red shift in the absorption boundary.
• The highest MO degradation rate of 98% was achieved with 0.04 B doping concentration.

Conclusions:

• Boron doping effectively enhances the photocatalytic activity of BiVO4.
• The improved performance is attributed to increased V(4+) and oxygen vacancies.
• Optimized B-BiVO4 shows significant potential for degrading organic pollutants under visible light.