Controlled fabrication and enhanced photocatalystic performance of BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres for the visible-light-driven degradation of rhodamine B

m-BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres have been fabricated by a facile low-temperature co-precipitation method and subsequent annealing process. The composition, morphology and size of the as-fabricated m-BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The vibrational features and the electronic state of the as-obtained m-BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres were studied by Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Band-gap energy of the as-prepared m-BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres was evaluated by UV-vis spectrum. The visible-light-driven photocatalystic performances were evaluated by degradation for RhB dye molecules, demonstrating that the as-fabricated m-BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres exhibit the enhanced photocatalystic activity, compared to the obtained pure m-BiVO4 microspheres. The separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs and transfer between CeO2 and BiVO4 has been discussed in detail, in order to have in-depth understanding on the enhanced photocatalytic performance. The results indicate that the enhanced photocatalystic activity of the as-fabricated m-BiVO4@CeO2 hollow microspheres is attributed to the efficient separation of the photoexcited electrons and holes. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.