Synthesis of flower-like monoclinic BiVO 4 /surface rough TiO 2 ceramic fiber with heterostructures and its photocatalytic property

Abstract The BiVO 4 /surface rough TiO 2 ceramic fibers were fabricated via a mild hydrothermal method by using surface-modified Si–TiO 2 as self-supporting substrate materials. The as-prepared fibers consisted of the needle-like or flower-like BiVO 4 uniformly assembled on surface rough TiO 2 ceramic fibers (RTF). Notably, several needle-like BiVO 4 with lengths less than 1 µm and diameters ranging from 80 to 100 nm constructed a microflower by radiating from the center, which could be controlled by adjusting the concentration of the precursor. The incorporation of monoclinic BiVO 4 in the composites was confirmed by XRD, SEM, PL and XPS. RTF was obtained through the dissolution of silicon in the surface of Si–TiO 2 ceramic fibers (STF) by HF. The photocatalytic performance of the heterostructured fibers was investigated by the degradation of X-3B in aqueous solution under both ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. The 0.2BiVO 4 /RTF with mass ratio of 20% vanadate exhibited optimized photocatalytic activity compared with pure STF, BiVO 4 , 0.2BiVO 4 /STF and mechanically mixed 0.2BiVO 4 +RTF, which might be ascribed to synergistic effect of morphology and heterostructures. Moreover, such 0.2BiVO 4 /RTF composites were easy to separate from the treated wastewater and remained stable after 10 irradiation cycles. It was proposed that electronic interactions at the interface of BiVO 4 /RTF heterostructures could effectively inhibit the charge recombination.