title: Surfactant-free synthesis of hyperbranched monoclinic bismuth vanadate and its applications in photocatalysis, gas sensing, and lithium-ion batteries.
abstract: Hyperbranched monoclinic BiVO(4) (h-BiVO(4)) has been synthesized on a large scale and with good uniformity by a surfactant-free hydrothermal route. h-BiVO(4) consists of four trunks with branches distributed on opposite sides. From observation of the intermediates at an early stage of the reaction process, it can be seen that during formation h-BiVO(4) has different growth rates along the a, b, and c axes. Based on crystal structure analysis and experimental results, h-BiVO(4) shows preferential growth along the [100] direction, and subsequently, along the [010] and [001] directions. As-synthesized h-BiVO(4) exhibits excellent photocatalytic ability in the photodegradation reaction of an aqueous solution of RB under visible light. Electrochemical measurements predict that h-BiVO(4) possesses high sensitivity to formaldehyde and ethanol gases, favorable discharge capacity, and capacity retention, which indicate potential applications in the fields of sensing devices and lithium-ion batteries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanomaterials and Nanochemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Si
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Sunxi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D001729:Bismuth; D002384:Catalysis; D002412:Cations; D004563:Electrochemistry; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry; D005740:Gases; D008027:Light; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D010782:Photolysis; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013499:Surface Properties; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014638:Vanadates / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D005740:Gases; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C091754:bismuth vanadium tetraoxide; D005557:Formaldehyde; D000431:Ethanol; D014638:Vanadates; D008094:Lithium; D001729:Bismuth