Structural, optical and photo-induced catalytic properties of derived-Leucoxene /BiVO4 composite prepared by sonochemical process

Abstract

In this work, the Leucoxene /BiVO4 composite material was prepared by sonochemical-assisted process by using low-cost leucoxene derived material (LDM) as titanium dioxide source and BiVO4 with different composition ratios. Crystallinity of composite specimens show the combining structure between monoclinic BiVO4 and TiO2 rutile phase with corresponding optical band gap of 2.4 eV and 2.85 eV, respectively. The 2:8-LDM:BV composite performed superior photocatalytic activity with complete decomposition of RhB dye under 20 min of light exposure due to heterojunction structure assisting the recombination retardment of photogenerated electron-hole pair. Superoxide radical (•O2-) is revealed to be major active specie induced by this composite. The composite catalyst exhibits excellent repeatability and reusability with 80% decomposition of organic compound after 10 times of usage.