Facile Synthesis of Nanostructured Vanadium Oxides via the Wet Corrosion Process and Their Application in Photocatalysis for Water Purification

Abstract

Nanostructures have attracted attention owing to their unique and diverse physicochemical properties and potential for photocatalysis, especially in the field of water purification. In response to the demand for superior nanomaterials, this study attempted to fabricate V oxide photocatalysts. This material has been used in brand new photocatalyst with narrow band gap, which has prompted extensive research efforts to enhance its functional properties. In response to the demand for superior nanomaterials, this study attempts to fabricate nanostructured V oxides using a wet corrosion process (WCP). WCP refers to a novel method for fabricating nanostructures that employs alkaline solutions. This technique offers numerous advantages such as short processing times, high reproducibility, and low cost. As a result of experiments, nanostructured V oxides were successfully fabricated using KOH solutions ranging in concentration from 0.1 to 10 mol/L. The fabricated nanostructures exhibited superior characteristic properties with nanoblocks, such as increased surface area and enhanced photocatalysis activity, when compared with those of untreated V. This study demonstrates that WCP is a simple, versatile, and scalable method for producing nanostructured V oxides tailored for water purification.