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Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of In3+ modified BiVO4 nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

In3+-doped BiVO4 nanoparticles with enhanced visible light activity have been successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, BET surface areas analysis, and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectra. In comparison with pure BiVO4, the In3+-doped BiVO4 displayed greater photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl blue under visible light illumination. All samples possessed a single monoclinic structure. The introduction of In ions resulted in structural distortion and the decreased band gap energy, producing more electrons and holes for photocatalytic reaction. In the meantime, the doping In ions entails a red shift in the absorption edge and an increase in the intensity of light absorption. The best photocatalytic performance was obtained with the BiVO4 sample containing 5.0 mol% In ions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundations of China (Grant nos. 51378217, U1360101), and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (Grant no. S2012020010887).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Zhixin Wang, Shaobin Huang, Zicong Jian, Jiazhi Yin, Zhibin Fei & Yongqing Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Shaobin Huang & Yongqing Zhang

  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Zhixin Wang, Shaobin Huang, Zicong Jian, Jiazhi Yin & Zhibin Fei

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  1. Zhixin Wang
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  2. Shaobin Huang
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Correspondence to Shaobin Huang.

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Wang, Z., Huang, S., Jian, Z. et al. Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of In3+ modified BiVO4 nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activity. Res Chem Intermed 42, 4147–4159 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-015-2265-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-015-2265-1

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