Visible light assisted photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet dye and electrochemical detection of ascorbic acid using a BiVO 4 /FeVO 4 heterojunction composite.

A BiVO 4 /FeVO 4 nanocomposite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method. The prepared heterojunction photocatalyst was characterized physically and chemically using XRD, SEM, EDX, XPS, BET, FT-IR, Raman, UV-vis DRS, EPR and photoluminescence techniques. BiVO 4 /FeVO 4 was explored for its photocatalytic activity by the decomposition of crystal violet (CV) organic dye under visible radiation. This experiment showed that BiVO 4 /FeVO 4 at a ratio of 2 : 1 completely degrades CV within 60 min. In addition, BiVO 4 /FeVO 4 was investigated for the electrochemical detection of the useful analyte ascorbic acid using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry techniques. This work reveals the potential of the BiVO 4 /FeVO 4 nanocomposite for applications in environmental disciplines as well as in biosensing.