Synthesis of Mo-doped ultrathin BiVO4 nanosheets with efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

In this study, a series of molybdenum-doped ultrathin BiVO 4 nanosheets (Mo-BVO) were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The results indicated that Mo-BVO nanosheets exhibited high photocatalytic efficiency of methyl blue (MB) degradation under visible-light irradiation. Particularly, 1% Mo-BVO exhibited an optimum photo-degradation rate of more than 97% within 60 min under visible-light illumination, which was approximately 3.8 times greater than that of pure BVO. The experimental characterizations and DFT calculations manifested that the ultrathin BVO nanosheets and Mo doping were beneficial to provide abundant active sites, suppress the photoinduced charge recombination and extend the absorption visible-light range, thus enhancing the photocatalytic performance toward MB degradation. Additionally, the photocatalytic reaction mechanism was proposed based on the reactive species trapping experiments. This study was expected to design a highly active photocatalyst for pollution decomposition by modulating the photocatalytic properties and electronic band structure.