Facile hydrothermal synthesis of BiVO4 nanomaterials for degradation of industrial waste.

ABSTRACT

Bismuth Vanadate (BiVO4) has been synthesized using simple hydrothermal technique while varying the pH of concentrated H2SO4. With the increase of pH values (from 06 to 10), the morphology of the synthesized material tuned in the form of nano-spheres and cubes in the range from 50 to 60 nm. The lateral affect tuned the bandgap of BiVO4 from 2.47 eV to 2.50 eV which is significant in the context of present study. It is worth mentioning that desirous bandgap corresponds to the visible spectrum of the solar light being abundantly available and finds many applications in real life. The synthesized nanomaterial BiVO4 has been characterized through UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The synthesized BiVO4 has been tested as photocatalyst for degradation of industrial pollutant from Leather Field Industry. Said catalyst (BiVO4) successfully degraded the industrial pollutant after 3 h under solar light irradiation. Therefore, the BiVO4 can be regarded as potential photocatalyst for degradation of industrial waste which is highly needed.