Highly efficient BiVO4/WO3 nanocomposite towards superior photocatalytic performance

Novel visible-light-driven bismuth vanadate and tungsten trioxide.(BiVO4/WO3) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal technique and the materials were characterized by UV-vis-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis-DRS), FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface analysis (BET) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The prepared hanocomposites were employed for the photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP). The photocatalytic activity of the heterogeneous nano composite BiVO4/WO3 is higher than that of individual components BiVO4 and WO3. We have also investigated the influence of various reaction parameters such as, effect of pH, catalyst dosage and 2-CP concentration on the photocatalytic efficiency. This work may provide an idea for designing heterogeneous catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants from wastewater. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.