Photocatalytic Water Splitting for O(2) Production under Visible Light Irradiation Using NdVO(4)-V(2)O(5) Hybrid Powders

The study investigated photocatalytic water splitting for O(2) production under visible light irradiation using neodymium vanadium oxide (NdVO(4)) and vanadium oxide (V(2)O(5)) hybrid powders. The results in a sacrificial agent of 0.01 M AgNO(3) solution were obtained, and the highest photocatalytic O(2) evolution was 2.63 μmol/h, when the hybrid powders were prepared by mixing Nd and V at a volume ratio of 1:3 at a calcination temperature of 350 °C for 1 h. The hybrid powders were synthesized by neodymium nitrate and ammonium metavanadate using the glycothermal method in ethylene glycol at 120 °C for 1 h. The hybrid powders consisted of two shapes, NdVO(4) nanoparticles and the cylindrical V(2)O(5) particles, and they possessed the ability for photocatalytic oxygen (O(2)) evolution during irradiation with visible light. The band gaps and structures of the hybrid powders were analyzed using UV-visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.