title: Microwave synthesis and photocatalytic activity of Tb(3+) doped BiVO4 microcrystals.
abstract: Tb(3+) doped BiVO4 has been successfully synthesized by a simple microwave-assisted hydrothermal method at 140°C for 30min. The structure, morphology and optical property of the Tb(3+) doped BiVO4 products have been systematically investigated. This study indicates that the incorporation of Tb(3+) could induce the conversion of structure from monoclinic to tetragonal for BiVO4. Furthermore, the as-obtained Tb(3+) doped BiVO4 samples showed an obvious morphological change: the hollow square rod-like BiVO4 crystal gradually changed to spindle-like crystal. The Tb(3+) doped BiVO4 products exhibited extraordinary photocatalytic activity for Methylene Blue (MB) degradation under visible light irradiation. The doped BiVO4 at a molar ratio of 2at% (Tb and Bi) with a mixture of monoclinic and tetragonal phases showed and prominent photocatalytic degradation rate, which reached 99.9% in 120min. The results suggest that the differences in the photocatalytic activity of these BiVO4 crystals with different Tb(3+) doping concentrations can be attributed to the change of crystalline phases, and the coexistence of the monoclinic/tetragonal phases in BiVO4 products, which improve the efficient charge separation and transportation.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors: Fuyang
authors: F
authors: Liu
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, PR China.
authors: Yingjie
authors: Y
authors: Hua
authors: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, PR China. Electronic address: wct581@sina.com.
authors: Chongtai
authors: C
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors: Xudong
authors: X
authors: Zhao
authors: State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, PR China. Electronic address: liuxy@jlu.edu.cn.
authors: Xiaoyang
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, PR China.
authors: Hongdong
authors: H
authors: Li
keywords: BiVO(4); Phase transformation; Photocatalysis; Terbium