Flower-Like SrTiO3/BiVO4 Heterojunction Nanocomposite Photocatalyst for Effective Degradation of Tetracycline

Abstract Flower-like SrTiO 3 was prepared by hydrothermal method and BiVO 4 was prepared by sol–gel method, and then the two materials were fully mixed under the condition of calcination at 500°C for 2 h. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the BiVO 4 nanoparticles were embedded on the flower-like SrTiO 3 , and the heterojunction between BiVO 4 and SrTiO 3 was formed which effectively improved the migration efficiency of photogenerated carriers. The UV–Vis test results indicated that the corresponding range of STO–10 wt % BVO composite photocatalyst changes from 380 to 490 nm, and the photocatalytic efficiency reached 72% by degrading tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) under simulated sunlight. Mechanism analysis shows that the type I heterojunction is successfully built between SrTiO 3 and BiVO 4 , which promotes the migration and separation of photogenerated carriers and reduces the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes.