Synthesis of BiVO4-GO-PTFE nanocomposite photocatalysts for high efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic performance for dyes

A BiVO4-GO-PTFE photocatalyst was prepared by a facile one-step hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The results showed that bulk monoclinic needle-like BiVO4 and poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticles with a uniform size distribution could be loaded on graphene oxide (GO) sheets to facilitate the transport of electrons photogenerated in BiVO4, thereby reducing the rate of the recombination of the photogenerated charge carriers in the coupled BiVO4-GO-PTFE (BGP) composite system. PTFE nanoparticles were dispersed on the surface of the GO sheets, which exhibited a localized surface plasmon resonance phenomenon and enhanced visible light absorption. The removal efficiency of dye (MB, RhB, RBB) by (BiVO4-GO-PTFE-30%) BGP30% (90%) was much higher than that by BGP-25% (85%), BGP-15% (76%), and BGP-10% (64%) under visible light irradiation. Recycle experiments showed that the composite still presented significant photocatalytic activity after five successive cycles. Finally, we propose a possible pathway and mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes using the composite photocatalyst under visible light irradiation.