Significantly enhanced photocatalytic degradation towards tetracycline hydrochloride in BiVO4via surface defect engineering

The strong driving force for carrier separation is a pivotal consideration in designing advanced environmental photocatalysts. In this study, bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photocatalysts enriched with oxygen defects were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method, enabling precise control over the density of active sites and the concentration of localized electrons. Experimental results indicate that defective BiVO4 achieves a remarkable degradation efficiency of 86.3% for tetracycline hydrochloride under 90 minutes of visible-light irradiation. Furthermore, we found that the introduction of oxygen defects significantly increased the surface charge density of BiVO4, and the catalyst bulk phase induced a strong internal electric field by the oxygen defects, which was not the case for conventional BiVO4 samples. This work elucidates the vital role of oxygen defects in catalytic performance and offers valuable insights into developing in situ strategies for surface oxygen defect engineering.