Kong Deyong1，Chang Jing1，Zheng Bo2，Miao Fei1，Ma dong，3，Wang zhongpeng1，3
1.School of Water Conservancy and Environment， University of Jinan， Jinan 250022， China； 2.Weifang Science and Technology Innovation Promotion Center， Weifang 261061， China； 3.Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for the Yellow River Delta， Binzhou 256603， China
Abstract
Objective This study aims to investigate the influence of alkylammonium hydroxide regulation on the photocatalytic performance of InVO4 powders. Enhancing photocatalytic activity by tuning crystal growth and defect structures is considered an effective strategy. However， the main challenge lies in clarifying the synergistic roles of nitrogen doping and oxygen vacancies in carrier dynamics. Based on this， their combined effects on charge separation and migration are analyzed to provide guidance for the design of high-efficiency photocatalysts.
Methods In this study， InVO4 photocatalysts were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Indium nitrate and ammonium metavanadate were dissolved in deionized water， mixed， and then treated with tetraethylammonium hydroxide （TEAOH） or tetrabutylammonium hydroxide （TBAOH） under stirring. The mixture was transferred to a Teflon-lined autoclave and heated at 180 ℃ for 12 h. The obtained precipitate was washed， dried， and denoted as E-InVO4， B-InVO4， and pristine InVO4. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated using bisphenol A （BPA） under visible light. 0.1 g catalyst was dispersed in 100 mL BPA solution， and samples were periodically collected for analysis. BPA concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）， and total organic carbon （TOC） was measured using a TOC analyzer.
Results and Discussion From a structural perspective， the introduction of organic auxiliaries significantly regulated the morphology and particle size distribution of the powders. In particular， the short-chain TEAOH promoted the formation of smaller and more uniformly distributed nanoparticles， which not only improved the utilization of active sites but also provided a favorable basis for the uniform introduction of defects. From the viewpoint of electronic structure， nitrogen doping effectively narrowed the band gap of InVO4 and enhanced its visible-light absorption. The band gap of E-InVO4 was reduced to 2.48 eV， which was significantly lower than that of pristine InVO4 （2.60 eV）. Meanwhile， the introduction of defect structures increased the concentration of oxygen vacancies and effectively suppressed the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The short-chain organic auxiliary was more conducive to constructing a synergistic defect structure with high nitrogen doping and abundant oxygen vacancies， leading to nearly complete removal of BPA within 60 min and a TOC removal of approximately 45%， which was markedly superior to the control samples.
Conclusion The synergistic effects of nitrogen doping and oxygen vacancies induced by TEAOH significantly enhance charge carrier separation efficiency and effectively improve the photocatalytic performance of InVO4. The apparent rate constant of E-InVO4 is 9.9 and 38.3 times higher than those of B-InVO4 and pristine InVO4， respectively. This study provides theoretical insights and technical guidance for the design of InVO4 powder photocatalysts based on defect engineering.
Keywords： photocatalysis； indium vanadate； alkylammonium hydroxides； nitrogen doping； oxygen vacancies
Get Citation：Kong Deyong， Chang Jing， Zheng Bo， et al. Synergistic regulation of nitrogen doping and oxygen vacancies on photocatalytic performance and mechanism of InVO4［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2026， 32（5）： 1-11.
Received：2026-05-11， Revised： 2026-06-07， Online： 2026-07-05。
Funding： The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42077120) and the Research Fund for Newly Recruited Talents of the University of Jinan (Grant Nos. XRC2506 and XRC2532).
CLC No.：X703；O644；TB4
Type Code：A
Serial No.：1008-5548（2026）05-0001-11
