InVO4 microspheres: Preparation, characterization and visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities

New types of visible-light-driven semiconductor photocatalysts for the applications of environmental improvement and solar energy conversion have received much attention. In this study, a novel visible-light-driven InVO4 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by a facile additive-free hydrothermal method. The product is 3D spheric structure and well-crystallized. Pt loading plays a key role in this system. Pt nanocrystals on the particle surface not only act as charge collectors and transporters but also produce much more active sites. The Pt-InVO4 photocatalyst exhibited excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity that reach the ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation ratio of 98.2% and H-2 production rate of 9.76 mu mol h(-1) g(-1) with methanol as the sacrifice reagent. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.