Photocatalytic activity and photocorrosion of oriented BiVO 4 single crystal thin films

As one of the most promising photocatalytic materials, the understanding of photocatalytic anisotropy of bismuth vanadate is of great significance. Here BiVO 4 films were grown on (001)- and (111)-oriented yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates (YSZ(001) and YSZ(111)) by pulsed laser deposition. The morphology of BiVO 4 films deposited on YSZ(001) is composed of square and flake nanoparticles, whereas that on YSZ(111) consists of irregular hexagonal nanoparticles. The degradation rate of rhodamine B in aqueous solution by BiVO 4 /YSZ(001) films is over twice that of BiVO 4 /YSZ(111) films. After the photocatalytic reaction, some smaller nanoparticles appeared on the edges and boundaries of the grains, and the V element was detected in the solution. The intensities of the electron paramagnetic resonance signal of the samples were reduced after the reaction. Furthermore, the amount of V dissolved in the solution decreased with the increase in the signal intensity of electron paramagnetic resonance.