Abstract
There is a lack of efficient methods for removing microcystins produced by cyanobacterial blooms. Here, microsphere-like bismuth vanadate (BiVO4-60) mesocrystals using a simple solvothermal method were prepared and applied to the photocatalytic degradation of microcystin-LR. The results show that the self-assembly of BiVO4 mesocrystals is mainly due to the coordination between acetone and BiO+. The surface area normalized rate constant (kSA) of microcystin-LR degradation for BiVO4-60, of 4.02 × 10–3 L/m2/min, is 3.56 times higher than that of BiVO4-0, of 1.13 × 10–3 L/m2/min. This enhanced photocatalytic activity is explained by the direct oxidation of photogenerated h+ produced on the (110)-oxidation facets. Moreover, BiVO4-60 mesocrystals exhibit stable dispersion and photostability during microcystin-LR degradation. Overall, our findings demonstrate a facile strategy for synthesizing BiVO4 mesocrystals, and provides a promising technology for degrading microcystin-LR.
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Acknowledgements
The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21972073, 22136003, 22076098, 22176110), the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities, China (No. D20015), Hubei Province Introduces Foreign Talents and Intelligence Projects (No. 2019BJH004), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M640721), Open Fund of Engineering Research Center of Eco-environment in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (No. KF2019-02) and Research Fund for Excellent Dissertation of China Three Gorges University (No. 2020SSPY140).
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Cao, X., Gu, Y., Fang, Y. et al. Self-assembled BiVO4 mesocrystals for efficient photocatalytic decontamination of microcystin-LR. Environ Chem Lett 20, 1595–1601 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01426-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01426-9