Effect of the concentration of starting solution on morphology and photocatalytic property of BiVO_4

A series of BiVO4 photocatalysts were synthesized via hydrothermal process.XRD,SEM,TGA,UV-Vis diffusion spectra were employed to characterize the phase structure,morphology and optical absorption properties of the samples.Using the degradation of MB as a model reaction,the photocatalytic property of the BiVO4 was detected.Results indicated that the concentration of starting solution had an important effect on the morphological evolution and photocatalytic property of BiVO4.When c(Bi3+) was 0.01,0.05 and 0.1,0.5 mol/L,the obtained BiVO4 samples possessed seaweed-like,cobblestone-like and potato-like morphology,respectively.seaweed-shaped and cobblestone-shaped BiVO4 exhibited better photocatalytic property than potato-shaped BiVO4,and the decolorization efficiency of MB solution reached about 75% at 180min.In addition,the formation mechanisms of BiVO4 with different morphology were discussed in detail.