Photocatalytic Water Splitting for O₂ Production under Visible Light Irradiation Using NdVO₄-V₂O₅ Hybrid Powders

The study investigated photocatalytic water splitting for O₂ production under visible light irradiation using neodymium vanadium oxide (NdVO₄) and vanadium oxide (V₂O₅) hybrid powders. The results in a sacrificial agent of 0.01 M AgNO₃ solution were obtained, and the highest photocatalytic O₂ evolution was 2.63 μmol/h, when the hybrid powders were prepared by mixing Nd and V at a volume ratio of 1:3 at a calcination temperature of 350 °C for 1 h. The hybrid powders were synthesized by neodymium nitrate and ammonium metavanadate using the glycothermal method in ethylene glycol at 120 °C for 1 h. The hybrid powders consisted of two shapes, NdVO₄ nanoparticles and the cylindrical V₂O₅ particles, and they possessed the ability for photocatalytic oxygen (O₂) evolution during irradiation with visible light. The band gaps and structures of the hybrid powders were analyzed using UV-visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.