BiVO_4 hollow spheres with hierarchical microstructures and enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible-light illumination

摘要

BiVO_4 hollow spheres with hierarchical microstructures were synthesized by a hydrothermal process under microwave irradiation. The microstructure, morphology, and optical properties of BiVO_4 materials were investigated in detail. The BiVO_4 hollow spheres with high surface area are composed of regular surface-orientated nanorods as building units with a diameter of 90 nm and the length of 0.5 to 1.2 μm. As a result of the morphology-dependent advantage such as special hollow structure, regular surface orientation of small-sized nanorods and hierarchical mesopores structure, these hollow spheres exhibit better photocatalytic efficiency in degradation of MO compared with the solid and nanosheets-based spheres.