Cu2O/BiVO4 heterostructures: Synthesis and application in simultaneous photocatalytic oxidation of organic dyes and reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light

Qing Yuan, Lang Chen, Miao Xiong, Jie He, Sheng Lian Luo, Chak Tong Au, Shuang Feng Yin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

334 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We synthesized Cu2O/BiVO4 composites by growing Cu2O nanoparticles on BiVO4 under mild condition. The optimized composite shows high photocatalytic efficiency in the simultaneous oxidation of organic dyes and reduction of Cr(VI) in neutral media. The XPS results confirm that the Cr(VI) adsorbed on Cu2O/BiVO4 was completely reduced to Cr(III). The photocatalyst can be used for the degradation of cationic or anionic dyes as well as a mixture of them under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the composite can be ascribed to the heterojunctions between Cu2O and BiVO4, which facilitate the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. The work demonstrates that the as-synthesized Cu2O/BiVO4 composite is a promising photocatalyst for the treatment of wastewater that contains organic dyes and Cr(VI) ions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)394-402
Number of pages9
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume255
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2014

User-Defined Keywords

  • Bismuth vanadate
  • Cr(VI)
  • Cuprous oxide
  • Heterojunction
  • Photocatalysis

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