Photodegradation of RhB over YVO4/g-C3N4 composites under visible light irradiation

A series of novel YVO4/g-C3N4 photocatalysts were prepared by a facile mixing and calcination method. The obtained composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and a photocurrent–time experiment. The rhodamine B dye was selected as a model pollutant to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared YVO4/g-C3N4 composite. It shows that the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 can be largely improved by the doping of YVO4. The optimal YVO4 content is determined to be 25.8 wt%; and the corresponding degradation rate is 2.34 h−1, about 2.75 folds that of pure g-C3N4. A possible mechanism of YVO4 on the enhancement of visible light performance is proposed. It suggests that YVO4 plays a key role, which may lead to efficiently suppressing the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, consequently, improving the visible light photoactivity.