Controlled fabrication of monoclinic BiVO4 rod-like structures for natural-sunlight-driven photocatalytic dye degradation

•Rod-like m-BiVO4 photocatalyst was synthesized in a controllable manner.•The effect of calcination treatment on photocatalytic efficiencies was examined.•The representative sample exhibited enhanced photo-degradation performance.•The selected BiVO4 showed advanced activity for dye sunlight-driven degradation.•The prepared BiVO4 has excellent repeatability over prolonged irradiation time.

In the present study, a time-saving, additive-free hydrothermal method for the tailored synthesis of m-BiVO4 rod-like structures was reported. The as-prepared BiVO4 products were systematically characterized with the aid of various techniques to probe their crystallographic, morphological, chemical, and optical properties. The photocatalytic activities of the synthesized rod-like BiVO4 were assessed by the photo-degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and orange IV (OG-IV) under natural sunlight irradiation. The effects of calcination temperature, catalyst dosage, and initial concentration of RhB or OG-IV on the photocatalytic degradation efficiency were investigated, where it was found that the sample calcinated at 300 °C exhibited superior natural-sunlight-driven photocatalytic response. The recycle experiments confirmed that the prepared BiVO4 photocatalysts possessed excellent repeatability and stability over prolonged irradiation time.