Fabrication, characterization and photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 coupled with FeVO4 nanorods

A novel FeVO4/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst was synthesized via a simple mixing-calcination method and characterized by various techniques including the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and an electrochemical method. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Results indicated that the FeVO4/g-C3N4 composite exhibited a much higher photocatalytic activity than pure g-C3N4 under visible light illumination. The rate constant of RhB degradation for the optimal FeVO4/g-C3N4 composite (5.0% FeVO4/g-C3N4) is approximately 2.2 times that of pure g-C3N4. The formation of a heterojunction structure between FeVO4 and g-C3N4 which efficiently promoted the separation of electron-hole pairs was believed to be the origin of the enhanced photoactivity.