Effect of Operational Parameters on the Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Visible Light Active BiVO4 Photocatalyst

Abstract

Visible light active bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) nanoparticles were fabricated by the facile hydrothermal method. The crystal structure and formation of the prepared BiVO4 were examined by X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The optical absorption property of BiVO4 was measured by ultraviolet-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared BiVO4 photocatalyst was assessed for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation (VLI). About 91.9% degradation in 90 min was observed when BiVO4 was used as a photocatalyst. Furthermore, the effect of varying the experimental parameters such as the catalyst amount, pH, and dye concentration were studied. Finally, the possible mechanism for MB degradation is presented.