Preparation of small-sized BiVO4 particles with improved photocatalytic performance and its photocatalytic degradation of doxycycline in water

Abstract In this paper, 1.3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) was used as solvent to prepare BiVO4 sample with improved performance, which was used to degrade doxycycline (DC) in water. The characterization results of BiVO4 showed that the separation degree of electron-hole pairs was significant improved when the particle size of BiVO4 is reduced. Meanwhile, the optimized BiVO4 particles also exhibited an excellent ability to degrade DC. The effects of H2O2 concentration, initial solution pH and solution temperature on the degradation efficiency were investigated. The optimal values of these degradation parameters were 4 mmol/L, 9.5 and 35℃, respectively. Moreover, the existence of h+, ·OH and ·O2- were verified by the trapping experiment. The degradation pathway and intermediate products of DC were analyzed by UPLC-QTOF. This work proposed a new method for the preparation of BiVO4 particles with remarkable photocatalytic activity, and also provided a reference for the degradation of DC.