Hydrothermal synthesis of PrVO4 nanocubes with enhanced photocatalytic performance through a synergistic effect

• Published in: Micro & nano letters 2020-03, Vol.15 (3), p.172-177
• Main Authors: Li, Li, Sun, Zhimei, Xu, Mai, Rong, Jiewei, Wang, Longde, Chen, Yi, Wang, Lujiang, Wang, Fengwu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aqueous solutions; Catalytic activity; crystal growth from solution; dyes; enhanced photocatalytic activity; green hydrothermal method; H+ radical; H2O2; heterogeneous photo‐Fenton‐like reaction; Hydrogen peroxide; hydrothermal synthesis; Light irradiation; Methylene blue; methylene blue aqueous solution; nanofabrication; nanostructured materials; OH radical; Oxidation; Photocatalysis; photocatalysts; photocatalytic efficiency; photocatalytic oxidation; praseodymium compounds; PrVO4; spectrochemical analysis; Synergistic effect; tetragonal praseodymium oxide nanocubes; ultraviolet spectra; visible light irradiation; visible spectra
• ISSN: 1750-0443; 1750-0443
• DOI: 10.1049/mnl.2019.0455

Novel tetragonal PrVO4 nanocubes have been fabricated by a simple and green hydrothermal method. The excellent catalytic activity of the samples was investigated for the degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. As compared with pure PrVO4 and H2O2, the photocatalytic efficiency of the PrVO4/H2O2 system was enhanced about 1.5 and 9 folds, respectively. In the whole photocatalytic process, h+ and ·OH radicals played the dominant roles on the basis of the trapping test. The significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergistic effect between photocatalytic oxidation of PrVO4 and heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like reaction of V(V)/H2O2. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed.