AlxSr1-xTiO3 perovskites with enhanced hydroxyl radicals and anions are highly reactive and break down organic dye molecules forming nontoxic by-products like H2O and CO2

Abstract

AlxSr1-xTiO3 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.09) photocatalysts were prepared by solid state technique. The synthesized materials were characterized using various analytical techniques like PXRD, UV–visible and SEM etc. To study the phase purity, composition, surface morphology and bandgap. The bandgap was estimated to be 3.2 eV, and the crystalline structure is identified to be perovskite from PXRD results. The photocatalytic behaviour of AlxSr1-xTiO3 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.09) nanoparticles was tested by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet light irradiation. These results demonstrated good photocatalyst efficiency of AlxSr1-xTiO3 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.09) which may be attributed to the bandgap, high adsorbing of the dye molecules on the surface, large surface area, availability of large number of active centres on the surface and possibly low electron-hole (e−/h+) recombination probability. AlxSr1-xTiO3 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.09) in addition, showed excellent stability against photocatalytic degradation even after repeated cycles of reusability. The degradation percentage was more than 90 %, at the natural pH of the solution. Based on the results a suitable photocatalytic degradation mechanism has been proposed. Thin films of AlxSr1-xTiO3 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.09) nanoparticles were deposited on a substrate and I-V measurements are carried to confirm the degradation of MB dye. These results reveal possible use of the material in large scale applications.