Visible light-induced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye using pure phase bismuth ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

The degradation of organic dyes in wastewater has become a significant environmental issue, requiring the development of degradation technologies that are both effective and environmentally friendly. The present study employed the sol-gel approach to synthesize nanoparticles of phase pure bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3). The nanoparticles were assessed for their ability to efficiently degrade methylene blue (MB) dye, especially under visible light irradiation. The X-ray diffractogram (XRD) confirmed the formation of BiFeO3 nanoparticles, with an average crystallite size of 48 nm. The material's band gap, with a value of 1.84 eV, demonstrates its capacity to effectively absorb light, including wavelengths within the visible spectrum. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to identify porous aggregated particles. Both Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirm the successful synthesis of pure BiFeO3 in the desired phase. The BiFeO3 photocatalyst exhibited a significant surface area and isotherms of type IV, a characteristic typically observed in mesoporous materials, as determined by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The efficacy of BiFeO3 nanoparticles in facilitating the decomposition of MB in a water-based solution was evaluated by visible light photocatalysis. An efficiency degradation of 98.49 % was recorded for MB within 2 h.