Visible light assisted photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet dye and electrochemical detection of ascorbic acid using a BiVO₄/FeVO₄ heterojunction composite

Abstract

A BiVO₄/FeVO₄ nanocomposite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized <i>via</i> a hydrothermal method. The prepared heterojunction photocatalyst was characterized physically and chemically using XRD, SEM, EDX, XPS, BET, FT-IR, Raman, UV-vis DRS, EPR and photoluminescence techniques. BiVO₄/FeVO₄ was explored for its photocatalytic activity by the decomposition of crystal violet (CV) organic dye under visible radiation. This experiment showed that BiVO₄/FeVO₄ at a ratio of 2 : 1 completely degrades CV within 60 min. In addition, BiVO₄/FeVO₄ was investigated for the electrochemical detection of the useful analyte ascorbic acid using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry techniques. This work reveals the potential of the BiVO₄/FeVO₄ nanocomposite for applications in environmental disciplines as well as in biosensing.