Synthesis of Co doped BiVO₄ with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities

A series of Co doped BiVO₄ (Co/BiVO₄) were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method using ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as the chelating agent. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Vis diffusion reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, respectively. Photodegradation of methyl blue (MB) over Co/BiVO₄ particles were studied under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic experiments revealed that Co/BiVO₄ exhibit higher photocatalytic activities than pure BiVO₄. The sample with a mole ratio of 0.06 (Co²⁺:BiVO₄) shows the best photocatalytic performance. The improvement of photocatalytic activity is due to the enhancement of light absorption, the excellent adsorption ability, the narrow band gap and the low recombination ratio of photo-induced electron-hole pairs. - Highlights: • Co doped BiVO₄ (Co/BiVO₄) were fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method. • The addition of Co could improve the photocatalytic activity of BiVO₄. • Co/BiVO₄ is a kind of photocatalyst with potential application under visible light irradiation.