Preparation and characterization of Co-doped BiVO4 nanoparticles: Application in degradation of Rhodamine B from aquatic environments

Nowadays, with the increasing drainage of industrial wastewater, the treatment of wastewater especially dye wastewater becomes more urgent. There are numerous methods of dealing with wastewater. Currently, the n-type semiconductor bismuth vanadate is one of the most common materials for photodecomposition, because of its 2.4 eV narrow band gap, perfect chemical stability, nontoxicity, low cost and environmental friendliness. In this research, nonophotocatalyst of bismuth vanadate as undoped and doped with Co were used as photocatalyst in the photodegradation of Rhodamine B. The characterization of nanoparticles was studied using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns, UV–Vis spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis. Experimental condition including pH, dye concentration, photocatalyst concentration and temperature were optimized. The most degradation efficiency was obtained in acidic pH. The RB removal efficiency of %99 was obtained by 0.1g of the photocatalyst after 195 min in 50 ml of 10mgL-1 RB solution in acidic pH of 2. The degradation efficiency was decreased in dye concentrations above of 20 mg/L. The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B solution was investigated in the presence of Co-BiVO4nanocomposites under UV, and sunlight irradiation. Our results show Co-BiVO4 nanoparticles has an extraordinary photocatalytic activity to degradation of Rhodamine B under both UV and sunlight irradiation.