| Abstrakt: |
This paper describes the solution combustion synthesis, solid-state characterization, photoelectrochemical behavior, and photocatalytic properties of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4). In particular, the influence of combustion precursor was addressed in this study. Bismuth nitrate pentahydrate was used as the bismuth precursor and either vanadium chloride or vanadium oxysulfate was used as the vanadium precursor. Urea, glycine, or citric acid was used as the fuel. Stoichiometric mixtures (1:1) of the fuels and oxidants (with the Bi:V mole ratio also maintained at 1:1) were subjected to solution combustion synthesis. The resultant samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, highresolution transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry, thermal analyses, and laser Raman spectroscopy. Methyl orange was used as a probe to test the photocatalytic attributes of the combustionsynthesized (CS) samples, and benchmarked against a commercial bismuth vanadate sample. The CS samples were superior to the commercial benchmark sample, and samples derived from vanadium chloride were superior to vanadium oxysulfate counterparts. The photoelectrochemical properties of the various CS samples were also studied and these samples were shown to be useful both for environmental photocatalytic remediation and water photooxidation applications. |
