Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic performance of VDyOₓ composite under visible light irradiation

A VDyOₓ (V₂O₅/DyVO₄) composite photocatalyst was prepared using a simple solution method. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, Raman spectroscopy (Raman), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Visible light-induced photocatalytic activities of the powders were evaluated by the degradation of acetone. Results generally show that the binary semiconductors V₂O₅/DyVO₄ with matching band potentials exhibit better photocatalytic properties compared with those of the single phase V₂O₅ or DyVO₄. An acetone conversion of 91.6% was achieved over V₁.₅Dy₁Oₓ composite photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. Effective electron–hole separation in the two semiconductors is believed to be mainly responsible for the increased photocatalytic performance of composites. The performance of the VDyOₓ composite catalyst can be further improved by loading a small amount of Pt. In addition, the Pt doped V₁.₅Dy₁Oₓ catalyst was also proven to be efficient in the photodegradation of 2-propanol and benzene.