Effect of Si doping on photoelectrocatalytic decomposition of phenol of BiVO4 film under visible light

The silicon-doped BiVO4 film was fabricated by modified metalorganic decomposition (MOD) method. XRD analysis indicated that the crystal size of the BiVO4 film was decreased from 32.4 nm to 23.9 nm by doping Si. The measurements of FT-IR spectra and the water contact angle showed that doping Si could elevate the surface hydrophilicity of the BiVO4 film. The phenol elimination rate on the Si-doped BiVO4 film electrode in the photoelectrocatalytic process was 1.84 times as great as that on the BiVO4 film electrode. The enhanced photoelectrocatalytic performance was attributed to the decrease of the crystalline size and the enhancement of the hydrophilic performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.