Controlled synthesis of m-BiVO4 dendrites for enhanced photocatalytic activity

•m-BiVO4 dendrites with controlled morphology have been successfully synthesized.•The synthesis method is simple and without adding organic surfactant.•The growth mechanism of m-BiVO4 dendrites involved the Ostwald ripening process.•The as-prepared m-BiVO4 dendrites showed great enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Well-defined m-BiVO4 dendrites have been synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method without adding organic surfactant. A series of time-dependent experiments were conducted to investigate the shape formation mechanism of the m-BiVO4 dendrites. Furthermore, the corresponding growth mechanism which involved the Ostwald ripening process has been discussed. The m-BiVO4 dendrites showed great enhanced activity in the visible-light photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution which might be attributed to the special morphology.