Synthesis of Au-BiVO4 nanocomposite through anodic electrodeposition followed by galvanic replacement and its application to the photocatalytic decomposition of methyl orange

A Au-BiVO(4) nanocomposite is synthesized by a two-step strategy involving anodic electrodeposition combined with in situ galvanic replacement. First, a BiVO(4) layer is prepared by the anodic oxidation of pre-electrodeposited Bi film in a VO(4)(3-) containing electrolyte. Thus-prepared BiVO(4) film contains excess metallic Bi, which is then galvanically replaced with Au from an aqueous HAuCl(4) solution, resulting in the Au-BiVO(4) composite in the second step. Optical, photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties are investigated by using X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, diffuse reflectance spectrometry, and photoelectrochemical analyses. The visible-light photocatalytic activity of the Au-BiVO(4) composite is evaluated using the decomposition of methyl orange dye and is superior to the bare BiVO(4) film counterpart.