Very fast photodegradation of tetracycline by a novel ternary nanocomposite as a visible light driven photocatalyst

• Published in: Materials chemistry and physics 2021-03, Vol.261, p.124242, Article 124242
• Main Authors: Ramezanalizadeh, Hamed, Rafiee, Ezzat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Barium hexaferrite; Bismuth oxides; Bismuth sulfides; Bismuth trioxide; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; Holes (electron deficiencies); Light irradiation; Magnetic properties; Mott-Schottky; Nanocomposites; Nanophotocatalyst; Nyquist-bode plot; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photodegradation; Semiconductor; Ternary nanocomposite; Tetracycline; Turbidity
• ISSN: 0254-0584; 1879-3312
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2021.124242

Design and preparation of a novel Bi2O3/Bi2S3/BaFe12O19 ternary nanocomposite were reported. To investigate the straightforward preparation of Bi2O3/Bi2S3/BaFe12O19 ternary nanocomposite, different characterization methods including VSM, XRD, FESEM, UV–Vis DRS, EDX and ICP-OES were utilized. The as-prepared ternary nanocomposite was used as a photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) under incident visible light irradiation. To explore the efficiency of this research for the destruction of tetracycline, the effect of various essential and crucial parameters such as catalyst loading, pH of the solution, TC concentration, time of illumination, type of the catalyst, reusability function of the catalyst, turbidity of the solution in the presence of the catalyst and scavenger experiments were examined. Photocatalytic activity experiments displayed that the binary Bi2O3/Bi2S3 and ternary Bi2O3/Bi2S3/BaFe12O19 nanocomposites had very close photocatalytic activity (about 80% after 15 min under visible light irradiation). Due to the magnetic property and separability of Bi2O3/Bi2S3/BaFe12O19, it was selected for further study. The efficient and suitable photocatalytic performance of ternary nanocomposite can be attributed to the efficient separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, flat band potential, donor density, and polarization resistance of ternary nanocomposite evaluated by Mott-Schottky graphs and Nyquist, Bode plots extracted from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Different intermediates were produced at pHs 5, 7, and 11 which were characterized by GC-Mass but TC was mineralized completely after photodegradation. Trapping tests showed that the photo-generated HO• and 1O2 are the main active species involved in the photocatalytic process. The durability test showed that the Bi2O3/Bi2S3/BaFe12O19 could be reused at least four times without substantial loss of activity. [Display omitted] •A novel visible driven nanophotocatalyst was synthesized and fully characterized.•Mechanism and products of tetracycline degradation were studied by UV–Vis and GC-Mass.•Photoelectrochemical and electrochemical properties were investigated.•Effect of process conditions on Efb and ND were extracted from Mott-Shotcky plots.•Surface resistance, capacity, and lifetime were obtained by Nyquist and Bode plots.