Excellent photocatalytic activity of Yb3+, Er3+ co-doped BiVO4 photocatalyst

- By lanthanide doping we achieved a monoclinic-tetragonal heterostructured BiVO4.
- The formed heterojunction promote the charge carrier separation.
- Occurrence of lantanide ions promotes an up-conversion luminescence process.
- We provide evidences of NIR photoactivity for Yb3+,Er3+ doped systems.
- The presence of Yb3+ seems to exalt the NIR photoactivity.