Dominant role of in defect on carrier distribution and photocatalytic activity for BiVO4

The bismuth vanadate samples (In-BiVO4) have been synthesized through sol-gel method. The typical XRD patterns of samples have revealed that the doped In ions could enter the lattice of BiVO4. The results indicate that doped In ions improve the photocatalytic properties of the BiVO4 for the degradation of methyl orange. The as-prepared In doped BiVO4 photocatalysts exhibit strong visible light absorption capacity than that of bare crystalline BiVO4. Density functional theory calculations show that doped indium ions can effectively promote the separation of photogenerated holes.