Sunlight assisted photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics by boron-doped lanthanum ferrite

Abstract

In recent years, the development of multifunctional materials has gained significant attention due to their wide range of applications in various fields. Boron (B)-doped lanthanum ferrite (LaFeO3) has emerged as a promising multifunctional material due to its excellent electrical and photocatalytic properties. The present study reports the synthesis of boron (0.1 mol, 0.2 mol, or 0.3 mol) -doped LaFeO3 nanoparticles using the sol-gel method and their characterization using X-ray diffraction, FTIR, scanning electron microscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity and photocatalytic activity of the synthesized material were evaluated using the four-point probe technique and the degradation of antibiotics (ciprofloxacin). The results revealed that the B-doped LaFeO3 nanoparticles exhibited enhanced electrical conductivity. Comparing all the samples 0.3 boron doped LaFeO3 showed best photocatalytic activity (91.2 %) towards ciprofloxacin. Super oxide (O2−.) radical is the major oxidative species responsible for photocatalytic activity. However, doping of boron, which creates oxygen vacancies and increases the concentration of charge carriers, reduced the band gap energy enhances the light harvest ion leading to improved photocatalytic properties. The recyclability of the composite is checked for three consecutive cycles and proves its sustainability.