Synthesis of dumbbell-like CuO–BiVO4 heterogeneous nanostructures with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Novel dumbbell-like CuO–BiVO4 (CuO–BVO) heterogeneous nanostructures with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity were successfully prepared by microwave method and impregnation–calcination technique. The products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The experimental results reveal that the BiVO4 samples are monoclinic phases with high crystallinity and purity. In addition, the dumbbell-like BiVO4 is assembled by plenty of nanoparticles. This p–n junction of CuO–BVO heterogeneous nanostructures can promote the light absorption capability of photocatalyst and separation of excited electron–hole pairs. The photocatalytic experiments show that CuO loading can effectively enhance the photocatalytic activities of the samples which were evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange under visible-light irradiation.