Abstract
Mixed-phase bismuth ferrite (BFO) nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation method using potassium hydroxide as the precipitant. X-ray diffractogram (XRD) of the particles showed the formation of mixed-phase BFO nanoparticles containing BiFeO3/Bi25FeO40 phases with the crystallite size of 70 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the formation of quasi-spherical particles. The BFO nanoparticles were uniform sized with narrow size range and with the average hydrodynamic diameter of 76 nm. The band gap energy of 2.2 eV showed its ability to absorb light even in the visible range. Water contaminated with Acid Yellow (AY-17) and Reactive Blue (RB-19) dye was treated by photocatalysis under UV, visible, and solar light irradiation using the BFO nanoparticles. The BFO nanoparticles showed maximum photocatalytical activity under solar light as compared to UV and visible irradiations, and photocatalysis was favored under acidic pH. Complete degradation of AY-17 dyes and around 95% degradation of RB-19 could be achieved under solar light at pH 5. The kinetics of degradation followed the Langmuir–Hinshelhood kinetic model showing that the heterogeneous photocatalysis is adsorption controlled. The findings of this work prove the synthesized BFO nanoparticles as promising photocatalysts for the treatment of dye-contaminated industrial wastewater.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, for providing the facility for TEM analysis.
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The authors would like to thankfully acknowledge the funding support by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, through DST-FIST program to Chemical Engineering Department at NITK Surathkal towards the creation of facility for particle size analysis by nanoparticle size analyzer which has been used in the present work.
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Kalikeri, S., Shetty Kodialbail, V. Solar light-driven photocatalysis using mixed-phase bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3/Bi25FeO40) nanoparticles for remediation of dye-contaminated water: kinetics and comparison with artificial UV and visible light-mediated photocatalysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 13881–13893 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1291-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1291-0