Bismuth vanadate/MXene (BiVO₄/Ti₃C₂) heterojunction composite: enhanced interfacial control charge transfer for...

We have synthesized BiVO₄/Ti₃C₂ nanocomposite via a low-cost hydrothermal method and investigate its photocatalytic degradation activity against monoazo (methyl orange) and diazo dye (Congo red) in an aqueous solution under visible light. The physiochemical characterization exhibited that the addition of MXene in pristine BiVO₄ nanocomposite led to an increase in specific surface area and reduction in optical band gap energy. MXene also helps in enhancing visible light response via a higher electron-hole pair generation rate and long lifetime. The synthesized BiVO₄/Ti₃C₂ heterojunction composite exhibited 99.5 % degradation efficiency within 60 min for Congo red and 99.1 % for methyl orange solution in 130 min owed to a large specific surface area (1.79 m²/g), reduced band gap (1.99 eV), and low recombination rate of charge carriers. The chemical mechanism for BiVO₄/Ti₃C₂ nanocomposite proposes that Ti₃C₂ role-plays as electron capture because of the higher potential of MXenes, tuning band gap energy which paves the way to excellent photocatalytic action. This work opens a new basis for developing Ti₃C₂ based promising and inexpensive co-catalyst for efficient solar utilization in photocatalytic-related applications in the future.