Cobalt copper co-doped BiVO4 novel photocatalyst for tetracycline degradation

In this study, cobalt copper co-doped bismuth vanadate (CuCo-BiVO 4 ) was firstly used for tetracycline (TC) degradation. The doped BiVO 4 with different Co/Cu ratio was systematically synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The results of the photocatalytic degradation shown that Co 0.02 Cu 0.01 Bi 0.97 VO 4 exhibited the optimal degradation activity, which may attribute to the smallest grain size (338 nm) of Co 0.02 Cu 0.01 Bi 0.97 VO 4 . The elemental distribution analysis confirms the coexistence of Cu 2+ and Co 2+ dopants. XRD and XPS analysis indicate that Cu 2+ or Co 2+ dopants replaced Bi 3+ in BiVO 4 . The band gap of Co 0.02 Cu 0.01 Bi 0.97 VO 4 was 2.35 eV, smaller than pure BiVO 4 , as calculated from the Tauc diagram. The highest degradation efficiency of 81.7% can be reached within 2 h. The rest degradation efficiency can reach about 70% of fifth recycling experiment, which shows good degradation stability of Co 0.02 Cu 0.01 Bi 0.97 VO 4 . Therefore, Co-Cu co-doped BiVO 4 stratage is a promising method for TC degradation.