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Fast Surface Charge Transfer with Reduced Band Gap Energy of FeVO4/Graphene Nanocomposite and Study of Its Electrochemical Property and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

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Abstract

Photocatalysis comprises an immense interest for resolving current energy and environmental problems by converting sun light into chemical energy. Here, we developed FeVO4/graphene nanocomposites by using a facile hydrothermal method and characterized the product through powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, UV–visible spectroscopic analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, photoluminescence spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The visible light-assisted photocatalytic activeness was determined by decomposition of methylene blue (MB) dye solution. The outcomes show that the FeVO4/graphene nanocomposites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic efficiency for the oxidization of MB on a maximum degradation removal rate of decolonization 92% while compared with pure FeVO4 nanocomposite (63%). This is attributed to enhanced light absorption capacity, long lifetime of photo-generated charge carriers in FeVO4/graphene nanocomposite and the greater surface area which allow greater extent of adsorption of dye molecules at the catalyst surface. The possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism of FeVO4 and FeVO4/graphene was proposed and critically discussed.

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Acknowledgements

All the experiments had been performed at Government college university Faisalabad, Pakistan. I am thankful to Dr. Zhengjun Zhang for supporting SEM, EDX, BET, PL and EIS techniques, Advanced Key Laboratory for New Ceramics, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 100084.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Government College University, Allama Iqbal Road, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Munir Sajid, Naveed Akthar Shad & Nasir Amin

  2. National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), P.O. Box 577, Jhang Road, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Naveed Akthar Shad

  3. Department of Physics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Yasir Javed

  4. The State Key Laboratory for New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Muhammad Munir Sajid & Sadaf Bashir Khan

  5. Department of Physics, COMSATS University Islamabad, Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Zahid Imran & Safia Hassan

  6. Department of Chemistry, Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), DHA, Lahore Cantt, Lahore, 54792, Pakistan

    Zajif Hussain

  7. Advanced Key Laboratory for New Ceramics, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Zhengjun Zhang

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  1. Muhammad Munir Sajid
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  8. Zhengjun Zhang
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  9. Nasir Amin
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Correspondence to Muhammad Munir Sajid or Nasir Amin.

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Sajid, M.M., Shad, N.A., Javed, Y. et al. Fast Surface Charge Transfer with Reduced Band Gap Energy of FeVO4/Graphene Nanocomposite and Study of Its Electrochemical Property and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity. Arab J Sci Eng 44, 6659–6667 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-03927-2

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