Electrical, optical, and visible light-photocatalytic properties of zirconium-doped BiVO4 nanoparticles

摘要

Zirconium (3.0, 9.1 and 15.9 at.%)-doped BiVO4 and pristine BiVO4 nanoparticles were synthesized hydrother-mally. The high resolution and field emission scanning electron microscopic images and the transmission electron micrographs show the synthesized materials as nanoparticles. The energy dispersive X-ray spectral analysis provides the percentage of Zr-doping. The Zr-doping favors transformation of the monoclinic phase of BiVO4 to the tetragonal lattice. Segregation of tetragonal ZrO2 occurs at 15.9% Zr-doping leading to formation of heterojunction. While 9.1% Zr-doped BiVO4 nanoparticles provide a perfect semicircular Nyquist plot with least charge transfer resistance pristine and 3.0% Zr-doped BiVO4 nanoparticles exhibit a half-semicircular arcs. The corresponding profile of 15.9% Zr-doped BiVO4 is a truncated semicircle with largest charge transfer resistance. Doping BiVO4 with zirconium does not shift the absorption edge significantly. The doped and pristine BiVO4 nanoparticles display near band gap and deep level emissions. Doping BiVO4 with zirconium enhances the visible light photocatalytic activity, evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue dye. The observed pho-tocatalytic activities of the synthesized nanoparticles are explained in terms of charge transfer resistance and photoluminescence.