Effect of Operational Parameters on the Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Visible Light Active BiVO<sub>4</sub> Photocatalyst
Malathi Arumugam, Myong Yong Choi
Abstract
Visible light active bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) nanoparticles were fabricated by the facile hydrothermal method. The crystal structure and formation of the prepared BiVO 4 were examined by X‐ray diffraction and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The optical absorption property of BiVO 4 was measured by ultraviolet–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the as‐prepared BiVO 4 photocatalyst was assessed for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation (VLI). About 91.9% degradation in 90 min was observed when BiVO 4 was used as a photocatalyst. Furthermore, the effect of varying the experimental parameters such as the catalyst amount, pH, and dye concentration were studied. Finally, the possible mechanism for MB degradation is presented.