Facile synthesis of Pt-In2O3/BiVO4 nanospheres with improved visible-light photocatalytic activity

We present a simple synthesis of BiVO4 nanospheres co-doped with Pt and In2O3 by a hydrothermal approach. The obtained samples exhibited monoclinic phase with homogeneously dispersed Pt and In2O3 on BiVO4 dopants as indicated by XRD, TEM, and XPS, respectively. The Pt-In2O3 /BiVO4 photocatalyst exhibited highest surface area, lowest band gap, and much less charge recombination compared to pure, Pt or In2O3-doped BiVO4. The 1.2 gL(-1) dose of Pt-In2O3/BiVO4 displayed a complete photodegradation of malachite green as an industrial model dye within 40 min with great reusability. A proposed mechanism is suggested based on the presented results. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.