Green synthesis of copper doped bismuth oxide: A novel inorganic material for photocatalytic mineralization of Trypan blue dye

Abstract

The incorporation of appropriate metal ions into a semiconductor lattice allows for the development of innovative photocatalysts with suppressed electron/hole pair recombination rates, enhanced photon-capturing capabilities, and accelerated kinetics. In this work, we use environmentally friendly methods to produceCu-doped bismuth oxide (Bi2−xCuxO3) nanoparticles for use in the efficient removal of the diazo dye, Trypan blue (TB), from textile discharges. Doped and undoped samples were characterized using structural (PXRD & FTIR), electronic (SEM & EDX), optical (UV/vis & photoluminescence), and electrical (I-V) methods to confirm Cu-doping, nanoscale synthesis, band gap reduction and process, induced structural defects, and intrinsic conductivity enhancement. Our Bi2−xCuxO3NPs exhibit extraordinary photo-destruction capability and promising stability compared to undoped Bi2O3 NPs due to the synergistic impacts of the aforementioned developed feature. After 48 min of W-lamp light irradiation, TB dye photo-destruction efficiencies were determined to be 55.4 % over Bi2O3 and 85.5 % over Bi2−xCuxO3catalysts under optimal conditions (pH = 6, catalyst dosage = 20 mg, dye concentration = 15 ppm). The Bi2−xCuxO3 NPs still have more than 93 % photocatalytic activity after five sessions of TB dye annihilation, and the post-activity XRD demonstrates that their structure and phase have not been altered. The findings obtained from our study demonstrate that the Cu-doped bismuth oxide nanocatalyst, manufactured using environmentally friendly methods, has great potential for environmental remediation applications. Specifically, it exhibits promising effectiveness in degrading azo dyes in the wastewater of various sectors such as textile, leather, food, and printing.