Visible-light-driven S and W co-doped dendritic BiVO4 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of naproxen and its mechanistic analysis

An inherently low photocatalytic efficiency due to electron-hole recombination greatly limits the practical application of BiVO4. It is crucial to improve this photocatalytic efficiency; we therefore, designed a novel sulphur (S) and tungsten (W) co-doped BiVO4 photocatalyst through a facile microwave hydrothermal process. The synthesized samples were characterized using a wide variety of techniques. Compared to undoped and S and W single-doped BiVO4, the co-doped system exhibits a significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity towards difficult-to-degrade naproxen drug (76.5%) upon visible light irradiation. The results indicate that co-doping with S and W increases the specific surface area while improving absorbance in the visible light region. Thus, the co doping of S and W gives a synergistic effect, leading to an enhanced photocatalytic efficiency, as confirmed by photoluminescence measurements. This study suggests a new strategy for the design of novel materials with enhanced photocatalytic performance for use in practical applications.