Bismuth zinc borate- Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for photo-piezocatalysis

Abstract

This study investigates the use of an electrospun membrane composed of Bi2ZnB2O7 - Polyacrylonitrile (BBZO-PAN) for the degradation of Methylene blue (MB) dye. The membrane was fabricated using the electrospinning technique, and its structural and morphological properties were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The membrane's chemical states before and after encapsulation of BBZO in PAN matrix were analyzed using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The optical studies revealed that the band gap of the BBZO-PAN membrane was 2.92 eV, which is lower than that of the PAN membrane (4.06 eV), due to the presence of BBZO in the PAN matrix. The prepared membrane demonstrated the capability to degrade dye under visible light irradiation via photocatalysis, piezocatalysis, and photo-piezocatalysis. The highest achieved degradation and kinetic rate constant were 82% and 8.8*10-3 min−1, respectively. The active species responsible for degradation were identified using scavenger tests for all catalytic processes. These results demonstrate the potential of the BBZO-PAN membrane for use in wastewater treatment and other environmental applications.