Photocatalytic activity and photocorrosion of oriented BiVO4 single crystal thin films

Abstract

As one of the most promising photocatalytic materials, the understanding of photocatalytic anisotropy of bismuth vanadate is of great significance. Here BiVO₄ films were grown on (001)- and (111)-oriented yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates (YSZ(001) and YSZ(111)) by pulsed laser deposition. The morphology of BiVO₄ films deposited on YSZ(001) is composed of square and flake nanoparticles, whereas that on YSZ(111) consists of irregular hexagonal nanoparticles. The degradation rate of rhodamine B in aqueous solution by BiVO₄/YSZ(001) films is over twice that of BiVO₄/YSZ(111) films. After the photocatalytic reaction, some smaller nanoparticles appeared on the edges and boundaries of the grains, and the V element was detected in the solution. The intensities of the electron paramagnetic resonance signal of the samples were reduced after the reaction. Furthermore, the amount of V dissolved in the solution decreased with the increase in the signal intensity of electron paramagnetic resonance.