The Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties for Water Oxidation over Bi/BiVO4/V2O5 Composite

Bi/BiVO4/V2O5 has been successfully synthesized by a simple annealing of BiVO4 in Ar/H-2. The obtained Bi/BiVO4/V2O5 was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The photo catalytic activities are examined by an oxygen-evolution reaction. When BiO/BiVO4/V2O5 in air and Bi2VO5.5/BiVO4/V2O5 in vacuum were compared with the products annealing in other atmospheres, Bi/BiVO4/V2O5 exhibited the best performance (2413 mu mol.g(-1).h(-1)), which could be attributed to the synergistic combination of Bi, BiVO4, and V2O5. This study may open up a new avenue for the development of,an efficient composite photo catalyst.