BiVO4/Cu0.4V2O5 composites as a novel Z-scheme photocatalyst for visible-light-driven CO2 conversion

A novel Z-scheme BiVO4/Cu0.4V2O5 heterojunction photocatalyst have been successfully constructed by growing Cu0.4V2O5 nanosheets on the surface of BiVO4 microplates using a simple co-precipitation method. The photocatalytic performance of BiVO4/Cu0.4V2O5 composites for CO2 reduction was evaluated under the visible-light irradiation. It was revealed that the photocatalytic performance of BiVO4/Cu0.4V2O5 composites varied with the Cu0.4V2O5 content and the composites with a mass ratio of 17.8 % Cu0.4V2O5 was found to be optimal for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Especially, the optimized BiVO4/Cu0.4V2O5 exhibited a high CO evolution rate of 9.49 μmol g−1 h−1, which is about 4.4 times greater than that of the pristine Cu0.4V2O5. The significantly boosted photocatalytic activity of BiVO4/Cu0.4V2O5 composites is mainly ascribed to the superior charge-transport property derived from the novel Z-scheme structure.