Degradation of environmentally harmful textile dye rhodamine B using silicate ceramic photocatalysts

Abstract

The current study focuses on the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye using Larnite, Forsterite, and Strontium orthosilicate ceramics under UV light irradiation. Using glycine as a fuel, an energy-efficient solution combustion method was used to obtain the respective silicate materials. Powder XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and BET were employed to investigate the obtained materials' phase identification, surface morphology, and surface area. The bandgap measurements of the silicate ceramics were analyzed using a DRS spectrometer, and the results are in the range of 2.7–2.8 eV. The DRS spectra results revealed that silicate ceramics can decompose the Rhodamine B dye when exposed to UV light. The photocatalytic degradation tests show that larnite is a more efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of rhodamine B than the other tested silicate ceramics, with degradation efficiencies of approximately 87% (larnite), 82% (strontium orthosilicate), and 79% (strontium orthosilicate) (forsterite). As a result, silicate ceramics can be thought of as a potential material for enhanced environmentally harmful textile dye degradation applications.