Effect of Gd and Y co-doping in BiVO4 photocatalyst for enhanced degradation of methylene blue dye

•Gd-Y co-doped BiVO4 photocatalysts were synthesized by a surfactant free hydrothermal technique.•Co-doping modified the morphology of the photocatalysts.•The co-doped BiVO4 photocatalysts exhibited promising dye degradation efficiency and stability.•A possible photocatalytic mechanism is proposed to understand the rationale behind the improved properties. [Display omitted] The development of metal oxide photocatalysts with improved dye degradation efficiency under natural sunlight is in increasing demand due to their superior chemical stability and cost effectiveness. In this context, Gd and Y co-doped BiVO4 having the nominal compositions Bi0.92GdxYyVO4(0.06 ≤ x ≤ 0.08; 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.02) have been synthesized via a surfactant free hydrothermal technique. The structural characterizations by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed a monoclinic to tetragonal phase transition induced by co-doping in BiVO4. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed successful synthesis of Gd and Y co-doped BiVO4 with a very good crystallinity. The steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy analysis indicated significant suppression of charge carrier recombination in the co-doped samples. Under simulated sunlight, Bi0.92Gd0.07Y0.01VO4 photocatalyst demonstrated 94% degradation of methylene blue dye (MB) within 90 min of irradiation time, which is about 4 times higher than that of pristine BiVO4 photocatalyst. This superior photocatalytic performance may be attributed to the synergistic effect of nanorod like shape of the synthesized materials, negative surface charge, and enhanced charge career lifetime of the Bi0.92Gd0.07Y0.01VO4 photocatalyst.