Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of caffeine using bismuth vanadate modified with reduced graphene oxide

Abstract Bismuth vanadate modified with reduced graphene oxide (BiVO4/rGO) was synthesized with the aim of applying this semiconductor material in advanced oxidative processes (AOPs) using the photoelectrocatalytic properties of the material for caffeine degradation. The semiconductor material was characterized by Scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis Diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry. Photo-assisted linear sweep voltammetry experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the photocurrent generated in the processes. BiVO4/rGO was found to exhibit relatively better photoelectrocatalytic performance compared to bare BiVO4; this result confirms the fundamental role of the carbon-based material when it comes to photoanode construction. With regard to caffeine degradation by high performance liquid chromatography through the application of BiVO4/rGO photoanode, the signal used for monitoring the presence of the analyte exhibited a decrease of 100% of caffeine concentration from the original concentration, indicating the efficient removal of the compound from the sample.