Facile and rapid synthesis of a novel spindle-like heterojunction BiVO4 showing enhanced visible-light-driven photoactivity

A spindle-like monoclinic–tetragonal heterojunction BiVO4 was successfully synthesized by a pressure-controllable microwave method. The as-prepared BiVO4 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, transient photocurrent responses and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of the BiVO4 samples was evaluated for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and tetracycline (TC). The synthesis process needs microwave irradiation for only 10 min without the addition of any auxiliary reagent, pH adjustment, and calcination. The as-prepared spindle-like monoclinic–tetragonal heterojunction BiVO4 exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of both RhB and TC. The photocatalytic degradation rates of RhB and TC over spindle-like BiVO4 are 1.77 and 1.64 times higher, respectively, than that measured over monoclinic BiVO4. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the fact that the existence of a heterojunction effectively promotes the separation of photo-generated carriers and extends the visible-light absorption of BiVO4.