Abstract
Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is a promising candidate material for photocatalytic hydrogen generation and photocatalytic degradation of organics. In this paper, first-principle calculations are performed to investigate the effects of oxygen vacancy on the structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of monoclinic BiVO4. It is illustrated that oxygen vacancy can exist in BiVO4 stably and might promote the transition of band gap from indirect to direct ones. Essentially, oxygen vacancy can enhance the hybridization of O2p, V3d and Bi6s orbitals, and shift the band edges. As a result, the dielectric function, refractive index, absorption coefficient, optical reflectivity, loss function and conductivity in the low energy range have a redshift. In addition, the real part of dielectric constant ɛ 1, refractive index n and reflectivity R of ideal BiVO4 increase with energy in the low energy range; however, they will decrease when oxygen vacancies are generated in BiVO4. But the other optical parameters are roughly independent of oxygen vacancies in the whole energy range.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Li X, Wang L, Lu X (2010) Preparation of silver-modified TiO2 via microwave-assisted method and its photocatalytic activity for toluene degradation. J Hazard Mater 177(1–3):639–647
Paola AD, Paola AD, García-López E, Marcì G, Palmisano L (2012) A survey of photocatalytic materials for environmental remediation. J Hazard Mater 211–212:3–29
Wang J, Fan XM, Wu DZ, Dai J, Liu H, Liu HR, Zhou ZW (2011) Fabrication of CuO/T-ZnOw nanocomposites using photo-deposition and their photocatalytic property. Appl Surf Sci 258(5):1797–1805
Yang YX, Guo YG, Liu FY, Yuan X, Guo YH, Zhang SQ, Guo W, Huo MX (2013) Preparation and enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of silver deposited graphitic carbon nitride plasmonic photocatalyst. Appl Catal B Environ 142–143:828–837
Ju P, Wang P, Li B, Fan H, Ai S, Zhang D (2014) A novel calcined Bi2WO6/BiVO4 heterojunction photocatalyst with highly enhanced photocatalytic activity. Chem Eng J 236:430–437
Macwan DP, Dave PN, Chaturvedi S (2011) A review on nano-TiO2 sol–gel type syntheses and its applications. J Mater Sci 46(11):3669–3686
Frontistis Z, Drosou C, Tyrovola K, Mantzavino D, Kassinos DF, Venieri D, Xekoukoulotakis NP (2012) Experimental and modeling studies of the degradation of estrogen hormones in aqueous TiO2 suspensions under simulated solar radiation. Ind Eng Chem Res 51:16552–16563
Zhao J, Yan JH, Jia HJ, Zhong SW, Zhang XY, Xu L (2016) BiVO4/g-C3N4 composite visible-light photocatalyst for effective elimination of aqueous organic pollutants. J Mol Catal A: Chem 424:162–170
Yu CL, Yu JC (2009) A simple way to prepare C–N-codoped TiO2 photocatalyst with visible-light activity. Catal Lett 129(3–4):462–470
Li Y, Sun ZH, Zhu SM, Liao YL, Chen ZX, Zhang D (2015) Fabrication of BiVO4 nanoplates with active facets on graphene sheets for visible-light photocatalyst. Carbon 94:599–606
Luo HM, Mueller AH, McCleskey TM, Burrell AK, Bauer E, Jia QX (2008) Structural and photoelectrochemical properties of BiVO4 thin films. J Phys Chem C 112(15):6099–6102
Min SX, Wang F, Jin ZL, Xu J (2014) Cu2O nanoparticles decorated BiVO4 as an effective visible-light-driven p-n heterojunction photocatalyst for methylene blue degradation. Superlattice Microst 74:294–307
Thalluri SM, Hernandez S, Bensaid S, Saracco G, Russo N (2016) Green-synthesized W- and Mo-doped BiVO4 oriented along the {040} facet with enhanced activity for the sun-driven water oxidation. Appl Catal B Environ 180:630–636
Gu SN, Li WJ, Wang FZ, Wang SY, Zhou HL, Li HD (2015) Synthesis of buckhorn-like BiVO4 with a shell of CeOx nanodots: effect of heterojunction structure on the enhancement of photocatalytic activity. Appl Catal B 170–171:186–194
Hong SJ, Lee S, Jang JS, Lee JS (2011) Heterojunction BiVO4/WO3 electrodes for enhanced photoactivity of water oxidation. Energy Environ Sci 4:1781–1787
Yuan Y, Huang YH, Ma F, Zhang ZQ, Wei XM, Zhu GQ (2016) Structural stability, band structure and optical properties of different BiVO4 phases under pressure. J Mater Sci 51(14):6662–6673
Navarro Yerga RM, Avarez Galvan MC, Del VF, Villoria JA, Fierro JL (2009) Water splitting on semiconductor catalysts under visible-light irradiation. Chem Sus Chem 2:471–485
Liu GC, Jing Z, Zhang XB, Li XF, Liu H (2013) Hydrothermal synthesis and photocatalytic properties of Cu-doped BiVO4 microsheets. J Inorg Mater 28(3):287–294
Hu Y, Li DZ, Zheng Y, Chen W, He YH, Shao Y, Fu XZ, Xiao GC (2011) BiVO4/TiO2 nanocrystalline heterostructure: a wide spectrum responsive photocatalyst towards the highly efficient decomposition of gaseous benzene. Appl Catal B Environ 104(1):30–36
Fu YS, Sun XQ, Wang X (2011) BiVO4–graphene catalyst and its high photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation. Mater Chem Phys 131(1):325–330
Zhang MY, Shao CL, Li XH, Zhang P, Sun YY, Su CY, Zhang X, Ren JJ, Liu YC (2012) Carbon-modified BiVO4 microtubes embedded with Ag nanoparticles have high photocatalytic activity under visible light. Nanoscale 4(23):7501–7508
Zhang AP, Zhang JZ (2010) Characterization and photocatalytic properties of Au/BiVO4 composites. J Alloys Compd 491(1):631–635
Fan HM, Jiang TF, Li HY, Wang DJ, Wang LL, Zhai JL, He DQ, Wang P, Xie TF (2012) Effect of BiVO4 crystalline phases on the photoinduced carriers behavior and photocatalytic activity. J Phys Chem C 116(3):2425–2430
Li DZ, Wang WZ, Jiang D, Zheng YL, Li XM (2015) Surfactant-free hydrothermal fabrication of monoclinic BiVO4 photocatalyst with oxygen vacancy by copper doping. RSC Adv 5:14374–14381
Yin WJ, Wei SH, Aljassim MM, Turner J, Yan YF (2011) Doping properties of monoclinic BiVO4 studied by first-principles density-functional theory. Phys Rev B 83(15):155102(1)–155102-(11)
Clark SJ, Segall MD, Pickard CJ, Hasnip PJ, Probert MJ, Refson K, Payne MC (2005) First principles methods using CASTEP. Z Fur Kristallogr 220:567–570
Segall MD, Lindan PLD, Probert MJ, Pickard CJ, Hasnip PJ, Clark SJ, Payne MC (2002) First-principles simulation: ideas, illustrations and the CASTEP code. J Phys Condens Matter 14:2717–2744
Pfrommer BG, Côté M, Louie SG, Cohen ML (1997) Relaxation of crystals with the quasi-newton method. J Comput Phys 131:233–240
Vanderbilt D (1990) Soft self-consistent pseudopotentials in a generalized eigenvalue formalism. Phys Rev B 41(11):7892–7895
Perdew JP, Burke K, Ernzerhof M (1996) Generalized gradient approximation made simple. Phys Rev Lett 77:3865–3868
Monkhorst HJ, Pack JD (1976) Special points for Brillouin-zone integrations. Phys Rev B 13:5188–5192
Ivanovskaya VV, Zobelli A, Wagner P, Heggie MI, Briddon PR, Rayson MJ, Ewels CP (2011) Low-energy termination of graphene edges via the formation of narrow nanotubes. Phys Rev Lett 107:065502(1)–065502(4)
Huang YH, Jie WQ, Zhou Y, Zha GQ (2013) Structural stability, band structure and magnetic properties of ZnS and Zn0.75Cr0.25S under pressure. J Alloy Compd 549:184–189
Yu R, Jiang YH, Feng J, Zhou RF, Zhang YQ, Zhou R (2013) The stability and elastic properties of NaCl-type MN (M 5 Ti, V, Zr, Nb, and Ta) compounds investigated by first principles. J Mater Sci 48(9):3443–3447
Liu QJ, Liu ZT, Feng LP, Xu B (2009) First-principles study of structural, optical and elastic properties of cubic HfO2. Phys B 404(20):3614–3619
Kube CM, Arguelles AP (2016) Bounds and self-consistent estimates of the elastic constants of polycrystals. Comput Geosci 95:118–122
Liu QJ, Liu ZT, Feng LP (2010) First principles calculation of elastic constants, electronic structure and optical properties of tetragonal ZrO2. J China Three Gorges Univ 32:75–80
Huang YH, Jie WQ, Xu LY, Luo JN (2013) First principle study on the electronic, elastic and optical properties of ZnS (Se, Te). J Synth Cryst 42:1046–1053
Fan QY, Wei Q, Chai CC, Yan HY, Zhang MG, Lin ZZ, Zhang ZX, Zhang JQ, Zhang DY (2015) Structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of P3m1-BCN. J Phys Chem Solids 79:89–96
Grundmann M (2010) The physics of semiconductors. Springer, Berlin, pp 775–776
Guo L, Zhang ST, Feng WJ, Hu G (2014) A first-principles study on the structural, elastic, electronic, and optical properties of CdRh2O4. J Mater Sci 49(3):1205–1214
Cai MQ, Yin Z, Zhang MS (2003) First-principles study on structural and electronic properties of barium titanate. Appl Phys Lett 83(14):2805–2807
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51302162 and 51471130) and sponsored by the China Scholarship Council.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yuan, Y., Huang, Y., Ma, F. et al. Effects of oxygen vacancy on the mechanical, electronic and optical properties of monoclinic BiVO4 . J Mater Sci 52, 8546–8555 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1069-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1069-7