Hollow BiVO4/Bi2S3 cruciate heterostructures with enhanced visible-light photoactivity

Novel BiVO4/Bi2S3 cruciformities with hollow heterostructures were synthesized by an anion exchange method. The cruciate BiVO4 acted as a template for the formation of special BiVO4/Bi2S3 heterostructures. The proportion of Bi2S3 in the heterostructures could be simply controlled by adjusting the amount of Na2S during the reaction with BiVO4 cruciate flakes. The as-prepared BiVO4/Bi2S3 heterostructures exhibit superior photo-responsive range and enhanced visible-light photoreduction activity for Cr6+ ions. A possible enhanced photoreduction mechanism is proposed.