BiVO(4)-rGO with a novel structure on steel fabric used as high-performance photocatalysts

A high-performance and novel photocatalyst of BiVO(4)-reduced Graphene Oxide (BiVO(4)-rGO) nanocomposite was prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. The photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, UV-Vis diffusion reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and UV-Vis adsorption spectroscopy, respectively. The visible-light photocatalytic activity was evaluated by oxidation of methyl orange (MO) under simulated sunlight irradiation. The results show that the BiVO(4)-rGO nanocomposites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of MO with a maximum removal rate of 98.95% under visible light irradiation as compared with pure BiVO(4) (57.55%) due to the increased light absorption intensity and the degradation of electron-hole pair recombination in BiVO(4) with the introduction of the rGO.