W/Mo co-doped BiVO4 for photocatalytic treatment of polymer-containing wastewater in oilfield

•W/Mo co-doped BiVO4 were prepared by hydrothermal method.•W/Mo co-doping could promote the effective separation of photogenerated carriers compared to pure BiVO4.•W/Mo co-doped BiVO4 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of HPAM.

Polymer flooding is an effective way to enhance oil recovery (EOR). However, the treatment of the oily wastewater becomes an urgent issue. Photocatalysis is a promising approach for this purpose. In this report, W/Mo co-doped BiVO4 particles are synthesized by hydrothermal method. W/Mo co-doping could promote an effective separation of photogenerated carriers reflecting from the 6 times higher photocurrent density compared to pure BiVO4. The photodegradation of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) over 0.5 at.% W and 1.5 at.% Mo co-doped BiVO4 is 43% under UV–vis light irradiation for 3 h, which is much higher than that of pure BiVO4 (18%).

Graphical abstractW/Mo co-doping could promote the effective separation of photogenerated carriers reflecting from the 6 times higher photocurrent compared to pure BiVO4. Therefore, W/Mo co-doped BiVO4 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide