Facile synthesis of hollow and porous Ag+/Ag/BiVO4 composite fibers with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

Novel hollow and porous Ag+/Ag/BiVO4 composite fibers were prepared by a one-step method using cotton fibers as templates. XRD and XPS results indicated that the sample is Ag+/Ag/BiVO4 composites. SEM and TEM results revealed that the sample is hollow fibers and the wall is porous. The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy results demonstrated that the sample shows enhanced visible-light absorption. The investigation of the methylene blue degradation suggested that the sample has the most excellent photocatalytic activity as compared with the BiVO4 fibers and Ag/BiVO4 composite fibers. The synthesis procedure is also simple, rapid and practical.