Hydrothermal synthesis of novel flower-like BiVO4/Bi2Ti2O7 with superior photocatalytic activity toward tetracycline removal

Abstract A novel flower-like BiVO 4 and BiVO 4 /Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 heterojunction photocatalyst was firstly synthesized by surfactant-free hydrothermal route, which is very convenient, rapid, controllable and environmentally friendly. The crystal structures, chemical composition, morphology, optical and photo-catalytic property of the as-prepared samples were characterized by the techniques of XRD, XPS, SEM, HRTEM, BET, UV–vis DRS, and PL. The BiVO 4 /Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure BiVO 4 and Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) under xenon lamp irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activities of BiVO 4 /Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 composites were either related to the particular structural features or the mass ratios of BiVO 4 and Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 in the composites. The possible photocatalytic mechanism of the BiVO 4 /Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7 composite has been speculated by detecting reactive species based on free radicals trapping experiments. The preliminary removal pathways of tetracycline was proposed on the basis of the identified intermediates using LC-TOF/MS.