A One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Eu/BiVO₄ Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst for Degradation of Tetracycline

Abstract

Eu/BiVO₄ photocatalyst was synthesized by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The structures and morphologies of Eu/BiVO₄ photocatalysts were investigated by XRD, SEM and FT-IR and their photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) under the visible light irradiation. From the photocatalytic activity test, 1% Eu/BiVO₄ displayed more superior photodegradation efficiency with 91.4% degradation efficiency of TCH in 150 min by contrast with 77.3% degradation rate of pure BiVO₄. The mechanism has been explored that <i>h+</i> is the primary active species, and ·OH is a secondary active substance in the photocatalytic process.