| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1520536 | Materials Chemistry and Physics | 2016 | 9 Pages |
•A new visible-light-driven photocatalyst of Ag2CaV4O12 was developed.•It has a narrow band gap of 2.231 eV with an indirect allowed characteristic.•Ag2CaV4O12 shows high activity in the MB degradation under visible light.•The photocatalytic ability is mainly driven by the OH radicals.
Ag-containing compounds are regarded as potential candidates for the efficient photocatalyst driven by visible-light. In this work, nano-sized Ag2CaV4O12 was prepared via a modified Pechini synthesis. The detailed structural refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicates that the Ag2CaV4O12 crystallizes in tetragonal system with the space group of P4/nbm (125), Z = 2. The surface property of this vanadate was measured by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectra (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm. The sample has an efficient optical absorption in the wavelength from UV to visible region characterized by its narrow band-gap energy of 2.231 eV with an indirect allowed property. The valence band maximum is composed of multiple states of Ag-d and O-p resulting in a narrow band. The excellent photocatalytic activity of Ag2CaV4O12 nanoparticles was tested by the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB) and phenol solutions excited by visible-light. The photocatalytic mechanism was suggested according to experimental results and the band energy positions.
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