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Cadenbach T, Sanchez V, Vizuete K, Debut A, Reinoso C, Benitez MJ. Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity of Bismuth Ferrite Hollow Spheres Synthesized via Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly. Molecules 2024; 29:3592. [PMID: 39124997 PMCID: PMC11314036 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29153592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Semiconductor hollow spheres have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their unique structural properties and enhanced surface area, which are advantageous for various applications in catalysis, energy storage, and sensing. The present study explores the surfactant-assisted synthesis of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) hollow spheres, emphasizing their enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity. Utilizing a novel, facile, two-step evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) approach, monodisperse BiFeO3 hollow spheres were synthesized with a narrow particle size distribution. The synthesis involved Bi/Fe citrate complexes as precursors and the triblock copolymer Pluronic P123 as a soft template. The BiFeO3 hollow spheres demonstrated outstanding photocatalytic performance in degrading the emerging pollutants Rhodamine B and metronidazole under visible-light irradiation (100% degradation of Rhodamine B in <140 min and of metronidazole in 240 min). The active species in the photocatalytic process were identified through trapping experiments, providing crucial insights into the mechanisms and efficiency of semiconductor hollow spheres. The findings suggest that the unique structural features of BiFeO3 hollow spheres, combined with their excellent optical properties, make them promising candidates for photocatalytic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Cadenbach
- Departamento de Ingeniería Ambiental, Instituto de Energía y Materiales, Colegio Politécnico de Ciencias e Ingenierias, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito 170901, Ecuador
| | - Valeria Sanchez
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito 170517, Ecuador
| | - Karla Vizuete
- Centro de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Av. Gral. Rumiñahui s/n, Sangolquí 171523, Ecuador
| | - Alexis Debut
- Centro de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Av. Gral. Rumiñahui s/n, Sangolquí 171523, Ecuador
| | - Carlos Reinoso
- School of Physical Sciences and Nanotechnology, Yachay Tech University, Hda. San José s/n y Proyecto Yachay, Urcuqui 100115, Ecuador
| | - Maria J. Benitez
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito 170517, Ecuador
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Cadenbach T, Sanchez V, Chiquito Ríos D, Debut A, Vizuete K, Benitez MJ. Hydrothermal Synthesis of Bismuth Ferrite Hollow Spheres with Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity. Molecules 2023; 28:5079. [PMID: 37446741 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, semiconductor hollow spheres have gained much attention due to their unique combination of morphological, chemical, and physico-chemical properties. In this work, we report for the first time the synthesis of BiFeO3 hollow spheres by a facile hydrothermal treatment method. The mechanism of formation of pure phase BiFeO3 hollow spheres is investigated systematically by variation of synthetic parameters such as temperature and time, ratio and amount of precursors, pressure, and calcination procedures. The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. We observe that the purity and morphology of the synthesized materials are very sensitive to synthesis parameters. In general, the chemically and morphologically very robust hollow spheres have diameters in the range of 200 nm to 2 μm and a wall thickness of 50-200 nm. The synthesized BiFeO3 hollow spheres were applied as catalysts in the photodegradation of the model pollutant Rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation. Notably, the photocatalyst demonstrated exceptionally high removal efficiencies leading to complete degradation of the dye in less than 150 min at neutral pH. The superior efficiencies of the synthesized material are attributed to the unique features of hollow spheres. The active species in the photocatalytic process have been identified by trapping experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Cadenbach
- Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, Quito 170901, Ecuador
| | - Valeria Sanchez
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito 170525, Ecuador
| | - Daniela Chiquito Ríos
- Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, Quito 170901, Ecuador
| | - Alexis Debut
- Centro de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Av. Gral. Rumiñahui s/n, Sangolquí 171103, Ecuador
| | - Karla Vizuete
- Centro de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Av. Gral. Rumiñahui s/n, Sangolquí 171103, Ecuador
| | - Maria J Benitez
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito 170525, Ecuador
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Subhashini N, Revathi S, Ubaidullah M, Al-Enizi AM, Muthulakshmi S, Thiripurasundari D, Shaikh SF, Nafady A, Moydeen Abdulhameed M, Alanzi NB, Alkhalifah RI, Dash CS, Sundararajan M, Sukumar M. Gd 3+-substituted BiFeO 3 perovskite nanoparticles: facile synthesis, characterization, and applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Dalton Trans 2023; 52:2735-2748. [PMID: 36749193 DOI: 10.1039/d2dt03138h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We present the combustion-based synthesis of BiFeO3 (BFO) and Gd:BiFeO3 perovskite nanoparticles. XRD analysis demonstrates that the undoped BFO (x = 0) perovskite sample shows a single perovskite phase with a rhombohedral structure. However, increase in the Gd3+ content from x = 0.05 and 0.15 to 0.25 led to the occurrence of a structural phase transformation from rhombohedral (BiFeO3) to orthorhombic (Bi2Fe4O9). With an increase in the Gd-dopant the average crystallite size of rhombohedral structures increased from 16 to 23 nm. The perovskite samples were examined using XPS, which confirmed the presence of Bi3+, Gd3+, Fe2+, and O2+ ions. FT-IR spectroscopy indicated the existence of elemental functional groups in the synthesized perovskite nanoparticles. Furthermore, the direct band gap measured by DRS reduced from 2.16 to 2.0 eV as the Gd concentration increased. The nanoparticles of the BFO perovskite had an uneven shape, a tendency to agglomerate, and fused grains with defined grain boundaries. At ambient temperature, both the undoped and Gd:BFO perovskite nanoparticles exhibit a ferromagnetic characteristic. It was found that the BET surface area of the undoped and Gd-doped BFO perovskite nanoparticles varied progressively from 4.38 to 33.52 m2 g-1. The catalytic oxidation studies conducted in a batch reactor under air conditions revealed that the synthesized catalysts, in particular, Gd:BFO (x = 0.25), exhibited higher conversion and selectivity efficiencies for glycerol (con. 100% and sel. 99.5%, respectively).
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Affiliation(s)
- N Subhashini
- School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, 600 127, India.
| | - S Revathi
- School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, 600 127, India.
| | - Mohd Ubaidullah
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Abdullah M Al-Enizi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
| | - S Muthulakshmi
- School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, 600 127, India.
| | - D Thiripurasundari
- School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, 600 127, India.
| | - Shoyebmohamad F Shaikh
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Ayman Nafady
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
| | | | - Nouf B Alanzi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
| | | | - Chandra Sekhar Dash
- Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 752050, India
| | - M Sundararajan
- PG & Research Department of Physics, Paavendhar College of Arts & Science, M.V. South, Thalaivasal, Salem, Tamilnadu, 636 121, India.
| | - M Sukumar
- Department of Applied Physics, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering (SVCE), Pennalur, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu - 602 117, India.
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