Enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities and mechanism insight of BiVO4/Bi2WO6 composites with virus-like structures

•A study on the morphology formation and photocatalytic activity of the composites was explored as a function of the molar percentage of BiVO4.•A better photocatalysis performance of the composites was observed.•A proper mechanism (photo-induced facial charge transfer process) for the separation and transport of electron–hole pairs was proposed for the photocatalysis performance. BiVO4/Bi2WO6 composite photocatalysts with virus-like structures have been prepared through a simple solvothermal synthesis without using any surfactant and template. The morphology formation and photocatalytic activity of the composites were explored as a function of the molar percentage of BiVO4. The results showed that the BiVO4/Bi2WO6 composite with a 50% molar percentage of BiVO4 exhibited an excellent photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B, the degradation percentage can reach 91% within 60min. A photo-induced interfacial charge transfer process for the separation and transport of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs has been demonstrated to play a critical role in the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the BiVO4/Bi2WO6 composites.