Fabrication of electrochemically-modified BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄composite film for bisphenol A degradation

A new electrochemically-modified BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ (represented as E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄) thin film electrode was successfully synthesized for environmental application. MoS₂ and Co₃O₄ were grown on the surface of BiVO₄ to obtain BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄. E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ film was achieved by further electrochemical treatment of BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄. The as-prepared E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ exhibited significantly enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity. The photocurrent density of E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ thin film is 6.6 times that of BiVO₄ under visible light irradiation. The degradation efficiency of E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ for bisphenol A pollutant was 81.56% in photoelectrochemical process. The pseudo-first order reaction rate constant of E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ film is 3.22 times higher than that of BiVO₄. And its reaction rate constant in photoelectrocatalytic process is 14.5 times or 2 times that in photocatalytic or electrocatalytic process, respectively. The improved performance of E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ was attributed to the synergetic effects of the reduction of interfacial charge transfer resistance, the formation of oxygen vacancies and sub-stoichiometric metal oxides and higher separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. E-BiVO₄-MoS₂-Co₃O₄ is a promising composite material for pollutants removal.