The effect of excitation wavelength on the photodeposition of Pt on polyhedron BiVO4 with exposing {010} and {110} facets for photocatalytic performance

A simple hydrothermal reaction is used to synthesize a truncated tetragonal bipyramid BiVO4 with exposing {010} and {110} facets. Pt is deposited on BiVO4 surface respectively under visible light or ultraviolet light irradiation. Pt deposition is quite different in particle size, uniformity, and tightness of contact with catalyst, because of the different growth rate of Pt with different light sources. The visible-light-deposited Vis-Pt/BiVO4 is superior to UV-Pt/BiVO4 in photocatalytic activity toward the selective photoxidation benzyl alcohol into benzaldehyde. This work demonstrates that the status of Pt photodeposition is influenced by the photon energy and thus the photocatalytic efficiency.