Enhancing Photooxidative Performance with Bi₂O₃ Nanoparticle-Modified BiVO₄ Heterostructural Flowers

BiVO 4 is widely used in photodegradation and photocatalytic oxygen evolution under visible-light irradiation. In this study, to reduce the recombination rate of photoexcited electrons and holes and increase the reaction activity site, BiVO 4 –Bi 2 O 3 heterostructural flowers were fabricated by one-pot hydrothermal method by adjusting the concentration of hydrogen ions. Moreover, we used sucrose to control the morphology structure of BiVO 4 and form the BiVO 4 –Bi 2 O 3 heterostructural flowers. The BiVO 4 –Bi 2 O 3 heterostructural flowers exhibited a higher photodegradation rate of organic pollutant than product synthesized without sucrose, BiVO 4, and Bi 2 O 3 . The synergistic effect between BiVO 4 and Bi 2 O 3 and the recombination frequency of photoexcited electrons and holes as influence factors of improving the photooxidative capability were widely explored. The flower-like morphology provided active sites, and the nanosheets of the flowers decreased the transport distance of the photoexcited carriers.