FeVO4 nanobelts: controllable synthesis by electrospinning and visible-light photocatalytic properties

In the present work, one-dimensional FeVO4 nanobelts with the width of about 400 nm have been successfully prepared by a simple electrospinning process followed by the subsequent calcination process. The prepared products are characterized by thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectra, scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms and total organic carbon. The results indicated that the as-prepared FeVO4 nanobelts belonging to the triclinic crystal system presented the one-dimensional belts structure. In addition, the morphologies, crystallite size and surface area of FeVO4 nanobelts were distinctly affected by the calcination temperature. And the FeVO4 nanobelts calcined at 600 °C for 2 h owned an excellent photocatalytic properties for the degradation of rhodamine B solution under the visible light irradiation. Schematic representation of electrospinning process and morphology evolution of FeVO4 nanobelts during calcination process.