Enhancing photocatalytic activity: Investigating the synthesis and characterization of BiVO4/Cu2O/graphene ternary nanocomposites

In this study, BiVO4, Cu2O, and graphene concentrations have been carefully monitored during the hydrothermal synthesis of the BiVO4/Cu2O/graphene nanocomposites. The impacts of different concentrations of graphene, time duration and heat treatment temperature have been investigated for synthesized samples. By various characterizations UV-Vis, photoluminescence (PL), FTIR, SEM, XRD and dye degradation, the optical characteristics, vibrational analysis, morphology, structural analysis and photocatalytic activity of the samples examined respectively. The nanocomposite BiVO4/Cu2O with different graphene ratios, the influence on the photocatalytic efficiency and stability of optimal sample has been investigated. BiVO4 and Cu2O concentrations had an impact on the stability of the monoclinic phase of BiVO4, according to X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Nanosheets composites with 100 nm average size of nanosheets has observed in SEM micrographs. The e(-)-h(+) recombination rate for this sample was lowest according to the PL findings. Also, the optimized sample BiVO4/Cu2O/G5, after 120 min in the visible light spectrum, achieved the greatest degradation of 96% for rhodamine-B (RhB) and 98% for tetracycline (TC) by using optimized photocatalyst BiVO4/Cu2O/G5. Utilizing scavengers, the photocatalytic mechanism has been studied. Recyclability test has been performed to pattern the stability by XRD for optimal sample. To explore the photocatalytic performance, the kinetics of the degradation of RhB and TC have also been examined.

Automated summary

In this study, the concentrations of BiVO4, Cu2O, and graphene were carefully monitored during the synthesis of BiVO4/Cu2O/graphene nanocomposites via hydrothermal method. The effects of different concentrations of graphene, time duration, and heat treatment temperature on the synthesized samples were investigated. The optical characteristics, vibrational analysis, morphology, structural analysis, and photocatalytic activity of the samples were examined through various characterizations. The influence of different graphene ratios on the photocatalytic efficiency and stability of the nanocomposite BiVO4/Cu2O was investigated. The stability of the monoclinic phase of BiVO4 was found to be affected by the concentrations of BiVO4 and Cu2O. Nanosheets composites with an average size of 100 nm were observed in SEM micrographs. The sample with the lowest e(-)-h(+) recombination rate exhibited the optimized photocatalytic activity. The optimized sample BiVO4/Cu2O/G5 achieved a high degradation efficiency of 96% for rhodamine-B (RhB) and 98% for tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic mechanism was studied using scavengers. The stability of the optimal sample was evaluated through recyclability tests. The degradation kinetics of RhB and TC were also examined to explore the photocatalytic performance.