Abstract:Fe-doped BiVO₄ with hierarchical flower-like structure was prepared via a hydrothermal method using sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as structure directing agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-Vis were applied for characterization of the as-prepared samples. The formation mechanism of flower-like structure was proposed based on the evolution of morphology as a function of hydrothermal time. Fe-doped into substitutional sites of BiVO₄ effectively improved the migration and separation of photogenerated carrier and enhanced the utilization of visible light. Flower-like Fe-doped BiVO₄ showed much higher visible-light-driven photocatalytic efficiency for degradation of methyl blue compared with the pristine BiVO₄. And the sample with a Fe/Bi mole ratio of 2.5% showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency.

Key words: BiVO₄; hydrothermal method; Fe doping; photocatalysis