Multifunctional polyoxotungstocobaltate anchored fern-leaf like BiVO4 microstructures for enhanced photocatalytic and supercapacitive performance

Abstract

In this study, a simple sonochemical approach for molecular anchoring of CoW12O40 [12-tungstocobaltate (II)] on fern-leaf like BiVO4 microstructures was employed. The various compositions were prepared by varying contents (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 5%) of CoW12O40 (hereafter denoted as CoWO). The as-synthesized samples were characterized and confirmed by various physicochemical tools. Furthermore, the performance of resulting composites was tested toward visible light driven photocatalytic treatment of organic pollutants and super-capacitor. Among them, 1CoWO/BVO composites showed optimal performance as compared to other composites and bare fern-leaf like BiVO4. To be specific, the photocatalytic performance of 1CoWO/BVO showed 97% and 78% degradation of methylene blue dye (MB) and tetracycline drug (TC), respectively. Additionally, the reus-ability of optimal 1CoWO/BVO photocatalyst was confirmed by performing its five consecutive runs towards degradation of MB and TC. Moreover, 1CoWO/BVO electrode yielded the specific capacitance of 245 F g-1 at 2 mV/s scan rate, supporting its applicability as an efficient supercapacitor electrode. The synergistic effect of CoWO and BiVO4 dominated their bare counterparts towards photocatalytic as well as electrochemical perfor-mance. Thus, this work rationally opens up the avenues to employ POMs based novel hybrid materials for future environmental and energy storage application.