The preparation of Ag–BiVO4 metal composite oxides and its application in efficient photocatalytic oxidative thiophene

A series of Ag–BiVO4 photocatalysts was synthesized by the hydrothemal synthesis method for different pH values. A strong correlation was found among the prepared processing, structure and property of the samples. With increasing pH value from 5 to 9, the crystallinity increases and the as-prepared Ag–BiVO4 sample gradually disappeared from the nanostructures. The light absorption became higher in the UV and visible range, accompanied by a bathochromic shift of the absorption edge. The competitive relations between crystallinity and surface area affecting photocatalytic activity were also discussed. Photocatalytic desulfurization on the as-prepared Ag–BiVO4 samples using thiophene dissolved in n-octane as a model organosulfur compound was performed. It showed that the photocatalytic desulfurization on the as-prepared Ag–BiVO4 sample at pH=7 can be up to 95%, which existed as various size particles and had significant high surface area of 13.768 m2 g−1.