One-dimensional Bi2O3 QD-decorated BiVO4 nanofibers: electrospinning synthesis, phase separation mechanism and enhanced photocatalytic performance

Abstract

In this work, we design and successfully fabricate novel Bi₂O₃ quantum dot (QD)-decorated BiVO₄ nanofibers by a direct heat treatment of as-spun fibers. The Bi₂O₃ QDs with a size of 5–15 nm are well dispersed on the surface of the BiVO₄ nanofibers with a diameter of 400–700 nm to form a Bi₂O₃ QD-decorated BiVO₄ nanofiber photocatalyst. Based on the phase separation mechanism and the properties of solvents, a possible formation process of the Bi₂O₃ QD-decorated BiVO₄ nanofibers has been proposed. The BiVO₄ nanofibers decorated with Bi₂O₃ QDs exhibit much better photocatalytic performance than pure BiVO₄ nanofibers. Photocurrent responses and electrochemical impedance spectra prove that decorating BiVO₄ nanofibers with very small Bi₂O₃ QDs can effectively promote the separation of photoinduced carriers, which is beneficial for photocatalytic properties. More significantly, this work is relevant to environmental purification and photoelectrochemistry.