Liaqat Maira, Iqbal Tahir, Ashfaq Zain, Afsheen Sumera, Mahmood Khan Rana Rashad, Sayed M A, Ali Atif Mossad
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan.
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan.
J Chem Phys. 2023 Nov 28;159(20). doi: 10.1063/5.0176106.
Semiconductor-based photocatalysts have become increasingly used in the removal of pollutants from wastewater, especially antibiotics. A series of composite-based cuprous oxide and bismuth vanadate (Cu2O/BiVO4) composite-based photocatalysts were synthesized by using the chemical method. The structure of the Cu2O/BiVO4 composite was verified by using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectra. The degradation of methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline (TC) was investigated to check the photocatalytic activity of the Cu2O/BiVO4 composite series. The quantity of Cu2O was varied from 1% to 7% by weight to prepare the series of Cu2O/BiVO4 composites. The analysis of results verified that 5% Cu2O/BiVO4 exhibits an outstanding photocatalytic activity as compared to 1%, 3%, and 7% Cu2O/BiVO4, pure Cu2O, and pure BiVO4 under visible light irradiation. The optimum value of photocatalytic degradation achieved with 5% Cu2O/BiVO4 was 97% for MB dye and 95% for TC in 120 min, which is greater than the photocatalytic degradation of pure BiVO4 (MB 45% and TC 72%), pure Cu2O (MB 57% and TC 80%), 1% Cu2O/BiVO4 (MB 72% and TC 85%), 3% Cu2O/BiVO4 (MB 83% and TC 88%), and 7% Cu2O/BiVO4 (MB 87% and TC 91%). The stability and reusability of Cu2O/BiVO4 were also investigated. To check the major role of trapping in degradation, a trapping experiment was also performed by using three trapping agents: BQ, EDTA, and tBuOH. The results showed that Cu2O/BiVO4 exhibits an improved photocatalytic activity in the degradation of antibiotics in polluted water because the recombination rate of the electron-hole pair decreased and the surface area increased, which increased the active sites for redox reactions. Such a photocatalytic composite with high efficiency has various applications, such as energy production, environmental remediation, and water remediation.
基于半导体的光催化剂在去除废水中的污染物，尤其是抗生素方面的应用越来越广泛。采用化学方法合成了一系列基于氧化亚铜和钒酸铋（Cu2O/BiVO4）的复合光催化剂。通过X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜、光致发光、傅里叶变换红外光谱和紫外可见光谱对Cu2O/BiVO4复合材料的结构进行了验证。研究了亚甲基蓝（MB）和四环素（TC）的降解情况，以考察Cu2O/BiVO4复合系列的光催化活性。通过改变Cu2O的重量百分比从1%到7%来制备一系列Cu2O/BiVO4复合材料。结果分析证实，在可见光照射下，与1%、3%和7%的Cu2O/BiVO4、纯Cu2O和纯BiVO4相比，5%的Cu2O/BiVO4表现出优异的光催化活性。5%的Cu2O/BiVO4在120分钟内对MB染料的光催化降解最佳值为97%，对TC的光催化降解最佳值为95%，这高于纯BiVO4（MB为45%，TC为72%）、纯Cu2O（MB为57%，TC为80%）、1%的Cu2O/BiVO4（MB为72%，TC为85%）、3%的Cu2O/BiVO4（MB为83%，TC为88%）和7%的Cu2O/BiVO4（MB为87%，TC为91%）的光催化降解率。还研究了Cu2O/BiVO4的稳定性和可重复使用性。为了检验捕获在降解中的主要作用，还使用三种捕获剂BQ、EDTA和叔丁醇进行了捕获实验。结果表明，Cu2O/BiVO4在污染水中抗生素的降解中表现出更高的光催化活性，因为电子-空穴对的复合率降低，表面积增加，这增加了氧化还原反应的活性位点。这种高效的光催化复合材料有多种应用，如能源生产、环境修复和水修复。
