Surfactant‐Free Synthesis of Hyperbranched Monoclinic Bismuth Vanadate and its Applications in Photocatalysis, Gas Sensing, and Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

Hyperbranched monoclinic BiVO₄ (h-BiVO₄) has been synthesized on a large scale and with good uniformity by a surfactant-free hydrothermal route. h-BiVO₄ consists of four trunks with branches distributed on opposite sides. From observation of the intermediates at an early stage of the reaction process, it can be seen that during formation h-BiVO₄ has different growth rates along the a, b, and c axes. Based on crystal structure analysis and experimental results, h-BiVO₄ shows preferential growth along the [100] direction, and subsequently, along the [010] and [001] directions. As-synthesized h-BiVO₄ exhibits excellent photocatalytic ability in the photodegradation reaction of an aqueous solution of RB under visible light. Electrochemical measurements predict that h-BiVO₄ possesses high sensitivity to formaldehyde and ethanol gases, favorable discharge capacity, and capacity retention, which indicate potential applications in the fields of sensing devices and lithium-ion batteries.