Structural characteristics and photocatalytic ability of vanadate-sillenite Bi25VO40 nanoparticles.

The vanadate-sillenite Bi 25 VO 40 nanoparticles were prepared through the facile Pechini method. The average size is about 70 nm. The sample was investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and the structural refinement. The surface properties of the nanoparticles were investigated by the measurements such as the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements. The nanoparticles have indirect allowed electronic transition and a narrow band gap of 2.31 eV. The photocatalysis was detected by the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) solutions under the irradiation of visible-light. Hybridization of the 6s and 6p orbitals of Bi 3 + and the resulting lone electron pair yield interesting properties. The photocatalytic activity was discussed on the base of the structural characteristics such as the strong polarizing fields, rich oxygen ion vacancies, and high structure openness degree of the lattice. Bi 25 VO 40 nanoparticles could be potential in the application as a photocatalyst under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]