Hydrothermal route to metastable phase FeVO4 ultrathin nanosheets with exposed {010} facets: synthesis, photocatalysis and gas-sensing

In this paper, pure metastable phase iron vanadate (FeVO4-II) ultrathin nanosheets (50 nm in thickness) with exposed {010} facets were obtained by a mild hydrothermal process, without the use of any template or organic surfactant. The photocatalytic rate of the FeVO4-II {010} facets was measured taking advantage of their unique morphology. Furthermore, the FeVO4-II catalyst could be easily separated and reused, simply by applying an external magnetic field. In addition, with their n-type semiconductor structure, FeVO4 ultrathin nanosheets exhibited gas-sensing for an ethanol trace.