Doping of Co into V2O5 nanoparticles enhances photodegradation of methylene blue

V2O5 nanoparticles doped with different amounts of (x = 2%, 5% and 10%) Co was successfully synthesized by thermal decomposition method with the purpose of enhancing their photodegradation performance under visible light irradiation. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman, UV-Vis, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The photodegradation property of the prepared pure V2O5 and Co-V2O5 nanoparticles were investigated by using aqueous solution of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The obtained results clearly indicated that the amount of Co has significant effect on the photodegradation of MB. Particularly, 10%Co-V2O5 nanoparticles exhibits enhanced photodegradation property than the pure, 2% and 5%Co-doped samples. A plausible mechanism was put forth for such significant improvements in photodegradation performance of Co-V2O5.