Effective construction of Cu, S-CQDs/BiVO4 composites through a facile and efficient route

Monoclinic bismuth vanadate (m-BiVO4) is a well-known photocatalytic material. However, its poor charge transport and photogenerated electron hole rapid recombination limit the application of m-BiVO4. In this paper, we successfully constructed a novel copper-sulfur co-doped carbon quantum dots (Cu, S-CQDs)/BiVO4 nanocomposite through a facile and efficient route, which significantly improved the photocatalytic performance of BiVO4. The physicochemical properties of Cu, S-CQDs and Cu, S-CQDs/BiVO4 samples were studied by various characterization. It was concluded from the degradation experiments that the photocatalytic degradation rate of rhodamine B reaches 99% in 60 min under natural light. The degradation curve compounds the quasi-primary kinetic model, and the kinetic coefficient of degradation is 0.07831 min−1, which is 5.37 times than that of pure BiVO4. Moreover, the free radical scavenging experiments reveal that the hole and superoxide radicals play a major role in the photocatalysis process. After four cycles, the activity of photocatalyst exhibits high stability, which is extremely important for the photocatalytic process. In the summery, the prepared Cu, S-CQDs/BiVO4has many advantages, such as environmental-friendly, low cost and a wide range of applications.