New light on the photocatalytic performance of NH4V4O10 and its composite with rGO

Abstract

Solar-driven photocatalysis has shown great potential as a sustainable wastewater treatment technology that utilizes clean solar energy for pollutant degradation. Consequently, much attention is being paid to the development of new, efficient and low-cost photocatalyst materials. In this study, we report the photocatalytic activity of NH4V4O10 (NVO) and its composite with rGO (NVO/rGO). Samples were synthesized via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method and successfully characterized using XRD, FTIR, Raman, XPS, XAS, TG-MS, SEM, TEM, N2 adsorption, PL and UV‒vis DRS. The results indicate that the obtained NVO and NVO/rGO photocatalysts exhibited efficient absorption in the visible wavelength region, a high content of V4+ surface species and a well-developed surface area. Such features resulted in excellent performance in methylene blue photodegradation under simulated solar light illumination. In addition, the composite of NH4V4O10 with rGO accelerates the photooxidation of the dye and is beneficial for photocatalyst reusability. Moreover, it was shown that the NVO/rGO composite can be successfully used not only for the photooxidation of organic pollution but also for the photoreduction of inorganic pollutants such as Cr(VI). Finally, an active species trapping experiment was conducted, and the photodegradation mechanism was discussed.

Tailoring Physicochemical Properties of V2O5 Nanostructures: Influence of Solvent Type in Sol-Gel Synthesis

“…However, subsequent irradiation resulted in more crystal damage and amorphization, leading to lower photocatalytic efficiency. We have shown in our recent paper [46] that mixing reduced graphene oxide with a vanadium-based photocatalyst strongly improves stability towards photodegradation. We also plan to study this behavior in the future for the best photocatalyst obtained in this research.…”