Visible light driven photocatalysis for water purification by highly crystalline multiferroic BiFeO3 nanoparticles synthesized via wet chemical route

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment 2017-08, Vol.85, p.282-290
• Main Authors: Ahmad, Sajjad, Naseem, Fizza, Shahid, Muhammad, Shakir, Imran, Aboud, Mohamed F.A., Sarfraz, Mansoor, Khan, Muhammad Azhar, Rehman, Aziz Ur, Warsi, Muhammad Farooq
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Micro-emulsion; Nanoparticles; Photocatalysis; Visible light
• ISSN: 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2017.21264

BiFeO3 (BFO) multiferroics were synthesized via a low-cost wet chemical method. The enigma involved the optimization of different reaction conditions. A comprehensive study was carried out to optimize the reaction conditions such as molar ratios of surfactant with total concentration of precursors, chemical source and solubility of precursors and annealing temperature. A pragmatic nucleation of precursors was achieved at molar proportions 1:1 between cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and total molar concentration of precursors. An endeavor approach was made to accomplish the appropriate flexibility of emulsion phase by adding small quantity of ethanol as a co-surfactant, nevertheless the solubility of Bi(NO3)3/BiCl3 was unfavorably affected. Subsequently, the single phase product of BFO was observed with reaction conditions 1:1 molar concentration ratio between precursors and CTAB, with precursors BiCl3 and Fe(NO3).9H2O and annealing temperature of 900°C for a time of 7 h. The structural elucidation was made by comparing the extracted data with standard cards (ICDD - 01-086-1518) of XRD. The crystallite size was computed to be 18 nm. The DC conductivity was found to be 1.005 × 10–9 S cm–1. The optical band gap was found in the range of ~2.6 eV. Keeping in view the optical band gap, BFO nanoparticles were investigated for photocatalytic degradation of Congo Red dye under visible light. The photocata- lytic degraded sample was investigated through the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and chemical oxygen demand estimation (COD value) for treated sample was calculated to be 63.27% which is less than the untreated sample which disclosed a photodegradation of Congo Red dye into simple hydrocarbon products as perceived in HPLC–chromatogram. The post XRD data showed the stability of BFO which could be separated through a simple bar magnet from reaction container.