Photocatalytic Performance Evaluation of Bismuth Doped Tin-Dioxide under UV and Direct Sunlight Irradiation for Congo Red Dye Degradation

Abstract

In the current research work, bismuth doped tin-dioxide (Bi-SnO2) was prepared by wet chemical co-precipitation method. The synthesized material was used as a photocatalyst in the degradation of congo red dye (CR) in its aqueous solution. The prepared catalyst was used in the uncalcined- and calcined forms for the photocatalytic reaction. The synthesized catalyst in both forms was characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD revealed that the calcination of the Bi-SnO2 improved its crystallinity. The SEM showed that the Bi-SnO2 had average size less than 150nm. Photocatalytic degradation of CR dye was carried out under ultra-violet light as well as under sunlight. While testing the photocatalytic degradation performance, it was found that more than 80% of the CR was degraded by using Bi-SnO2 nanoparticles under both lighting conditions. Moreover, the calcined Bi-SnO2 nanoparticles showed better photocatalytic performance as compared to its uncalcined form. The present work provides a viable way to make efficient photocatalyst based-on Bi-SnO2 to employ under UV and sunlight for the degradation of the CR dye without the need of oxidizing or reducing agents.