Synergetic Catalytic and Photocatalytic Performances of Tin-Doped BiFeO3/Graphene Nanoplatelet Hybrids under Dark and Light Conditions.

Abstract

Because of a rapidly growing need for water, it is essential to find new fast and reliable ways of water purification from organic pollutants. For removing organic azo dyes from water, various catalysts and photocatalysts have been designed to meet crucial water needs. In this study tin (Sn) doped bismuth ferrite (BFO) nanoparticles have been synthesized using the sol-gel technique. Further, BFSO/GNP nanohybrids were synthesized by mixing BFSO nanoparticles with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) via a simple and cost effective coprecipitation process. XRD and SEM showed that BFSO/GNP nanohybrids are well grown in crystal structure along with uniform and homogeneous morphology. XPS supported the elemental composition and interface bonding of both materials present inside the nanohybrids. DRS and catalytic activities showed that BFSO/GNP nanohybrids are both dark and light active species for performing dye degradation activities during water purification. The as-synthesized nanohybrids provided efficient dye removal from water even in the absence of light owing to the presence of defects and trap-state carriers (electrons) inside the graphene sheets. The optimized nanohybrid BFSO-15/GNP showed 100% dye removal in 60 min with 90% catalytic activity under dark. The recyclability test showed stable and repeatable performance of BFSO/GNP nanohybrids up to 10 cycles of catalytic activities.