Recent progress in BiVO4-based heterojunction nanomaterials for photocatalytic applications

As an innovative kind of semiconductor photocatalytic material, bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) has become one of the hot research materials since its narrow band gap, good visible light response, non-toxic and other advantages. However, the photocatalytic properties of BiVO4 are unsatisfactory because of the inherent limitation of poor photogenerated charge transport ability, sluggish water oxidation kinetics, and fast recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Constructing heterojunctions is a successful strategy for enhancing charge separation and slowing down the rate of recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which has been investigated over the past decades. In this review, the current progress of BiVO4-based heterojunction nanomaterials in the field of photocatalysis is reviewed, especially in the design of heterojunction, reaction mechanisms and key challenges of BiVO4-based heterojunction nanomaterials are summarized in photocatalytic water splitting, organic matter degradation, CO2 reduction, heavy metal ion reduction. Finally, the development direction and prospect of BiVO4-based heterojunction nanomaterials are prospected.