Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of Gd-doped Bi2O3 for selective dyes under UV light irradiation

Abstract

Nanorod like structured bare Bi2O3 and Gd-doped Bi2O3 (Gd-Bi2O3) are synthesized by simple hydrothermal method. The crystal structure, compositions and surface morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and UV-visible absorbance spectroscopy (UV). The photocatalytic efficiency of as synthesized samples is evaluated by degradation of aqueous solution of dyes from different classes under the pH = 4, 6, 8 in presence of UV light. Comparatively, Gd-Bi2O3 exhibits significant degradation of dye stuffs than bare Bi2O3. In our present study, the factors which are emphasis the photocatalytic activity of Gd-Bi2O3 and possible mechanism for photocatalytic degradation also narrated briefly.