Citric acid assisted auto combustion method was used in the synthesis of BiFeO3 nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterised using X-ray powder diffraction, Scanning electron Microscope, BET surface area analysis, UV-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectrometer and Vibratory Sample Magnetometer. The photocatalytic behaviour of the BFO nanoparticles has been studied by the degradation of the direct blue dye. It is observed that BFO shows a good photocatalytic degradation of dye in the visible light irradiation. The effect of pH, catalyst quantity has been studied. The optimum condition is identified as pH 2 and 150mg of the photocatalyst in 10ppm of the dye solution. The magnetic property of BiFeO3at room temperature helps in the efficient removal of them from the treated dye solution. The ability of BiFeO3 nanoparticles to absorb the solar energy and using it for the treatment of water gives it an upper hand over other photo catalysts like Titanium Oxide (TiO2) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO).
Synthesis and characterization of zinc-imidazolate coordination polymer and its use for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye under visible light irradiation