Exalted photocatalytic activity of tetragonal BiVO<sub>4</sub>by Er<sup>3+</sup>doping through a luminescence cooperative mechanism
S. ObregónInstituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla, Centro Mixto CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Américo Vespucio, 49, 41092 Sevilla, Spain. [email protected]Soo Wohn LeeDepartment of Materials Engineering, Sun Moon University, Galsan-Ri, Tangjung-Myon, Asan, South KoreaG. ColónInstituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla, Centro Mixto CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Américo Vespucio, 49, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
2013en
ABI
Abstract
Er-doped BiVO4 are synthesized by means of a surfactant free microwave assisted hydrothermal method having good photoactivities under sun-like excitation for the degradation of methylene blue. From the structural and morphological characterization, it has been stated that the presence of Er(3+) induces a slight stabilization of the tetragonal phase, probably due to its incorporation in the BiVO4 lattice. The best photocatalytic performances were attained for the samples with Er(3+) content higher than 3 at%. The occurrence of the Er(3+) doped tetragonal BiVO4 clearly induces higher photocatalytic activities. The existence of a luminescence process has been related with the enhanced photoactivity observed.
Identifiers
Citations and references
Cited by 30 references