Hydrothermal preparation of BiVO4 powders

Monoclinic bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) powders were prepared by a mild hydrothermal method, using an aqueous solution of bismuth nitrate and two different vanadium sources (V2O5 and NaVO3). The characterization of as-prepared BiVO4 was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that in the present work the temperature of 200 and 140 °C are sufficient to prepare phase pure BiVO4 powders from V2O5 and NaVO3, respectively. The BiVO4 sample prepared from V2O5 consists of an agglomeration of small rod-like particles. When BiVO4 was prepared from NaVO3, monoclinic BiVO4 powder with a plate form is obtained.