Synthesis of BiVO4 nanosheets-graphene composites toward improved visible light photoactivity

Two-dimensional (2-D) BiVO4 nanosheets-graphene (GR) composites with different weight addition ratios of GR have been prepared via a facile wet chemistry process. X-ray diffiaction (XRD), Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS),UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission :electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, transient photocurrent response and photoluminescence (PL) spectra were employed to determine the properties of the samples. It is found that BiVO4 nanosheets could pave well on the surface of graphene sheets. BiVO4 nanosheets-GR composites with a proper addition amount of GR exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than bare BiVO4 nanosheets toward liquid-phase degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic activities of BiVO4 nanosheets-GR composites can be attributed to the effective separation of photoexcited electron-hole pairs. This work not only provides a simple strategy for fabricating specific 2-D semiconductor-2-D GR composites, but also opens a new window of such 2-D semiconductor-2-D GR composites as visible light photocatalysts toward an improved visible light photoactivity in purifying polluted water resources.