The optimization of BiVO₄-based structures significantly contributes to the development of a global system towards clean, renewable, and sustainable energies. Enhanced photocatalytic performance has been reported for numerous doped BiVO₄ materials. Bi³⁺-based compounds can be easily doped with rare earth (RE³⁺) ions due to their equal valence and similar ionic radius. This means that RE³⁺ ions could be regarded as active co-catalysts and dopants to enhance the photocatalytic activity of BiVO₄. In this study, a simple microwave-assisted approach was used for preparing nanostructured Bi_1−xEu_xVO₄ (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, and 0.12) samples. Microwave heating at 170 °C yields a bright yellow powder after 10 min of radiation. The materials are characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-NIR DRS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and micro-Raman techniques. The effects of the different Eu³⁺ ion concentrations incorporated into the BiVO₄ matrix on the formation of the monoclinic scheelite (ms-) or tetragonal zircon-type (tz-) BiVO₄ structure, on the photoluminescent intensity, on the decay dynamics of europium emission, and on photocatalytic efficiency in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) were studied in detail. Additionally, microwave chemistry proved to be beneficial in the synthesis of the tz-BiVO₄ nanostructure and Eu³⁺ ion doping, leading to an enhanced luminescent and photocatalytic performance.

Optical Tamm structures have potential for the development of optoelectronic devices, provided they overcome the challenge of low-quality factor of modes and inherent losses associated with plasmonic metal films. In this work, we present lasing in a super-Tamm structure consisting of a silver thin film deposited on a 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4- dimethylaminostyryl)-H-pyran (DCM) dye-doped polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) spacer layer coated on a SiO₂/TiO₂ one-dimensional photonic crystal with a lasing threshold of ∼0.07 mJ. The spectral line narrowing and threshold characteristics observed in the emission spectrum corroborate the realization of a waveguided super-Tamm laser. The bi-exponential temporal decay profile of the Tamm lasing modes with an average lifetime of 0.52 ± 0.02 ns confirms the Purcell enhancement of radiative intensity of the DCM dye when coupled to the super-Tamm modes.