Development of heterojunction in N-rGO supported bismuth ferrite photocatalyst for degradation of Rhodamine B

• Published in: Inorganic chemistry communications 2020-07, Vol.117, p.107945, Article 107945
• Main Authors: Dixit, Tarun Kumar, Sharma, Sweta, Sinha, A.S.K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Charge transfer; Heterojunction; Interfaces; Photocatalytic degradation
• ISSN: 1387-7003; 1879-0259
• DOI: 10.1016/j.inoche.2020.107945

[Display omitted] •N-rGO supported BiFeO3 heterojunction was synthesized.•Chemical interaction between BiFeO3 and N-rGO facilitates electron transfer.•N-rGO increases the electron conductivity and charge carrier density.•The synergy of the above two factors leads to a better photocatalytic activity.•Reaction mechanism and effect of scavengers were examined. A nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (N-rGO) supported bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3/N-rGO) exhibited a superior photocatalytic activity toward degradation of Rhodamine B, which was synthesized by the sol–gel method followed by hydrothermal method. Catalysts were characterized by HR-TEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR), Diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Photoluminescence (PL) and Mott-Schottky (M−S) analyses. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy confirmed that nitrogen-doped graphene efficiently inhibits recombination of electron-hole pairs in BiFeO3/N-rGO. FTIR, DRS, and XPS analyses confirmed a chemical interaction between graphene and bismuth ferrite leading to the formation of heterojunction. This interaction led to the enhancement of charge transfer for photocatalytic activity. EIS and M−S analyses showed low resistance for charge mobility, high charge carrier density, and high band bending in BiFeO3/N-rGO. A fivefold improvement was observed in the photocatalytic activity of Rhodamine B by using the catalyst as compared to that of bare bismuth ferrite.