Experimental and first principle DFT comprehensions of metal and bimetal modified bismuth titanate for wastewater treatment and CO hydrogenation.

Incorporating copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) at the bismuth titanate (BT) surface was carried out hydrolysis method followed by calcination at 700 °C. Modified BT further tested for the photodegradation of a recalcitrant pollutant Bisphenol-A (BPA), followed by the evaluation of photocatalytic hydrogenation of CO for selective production of CO and CH. Photodegradation studies were remarkable in BT doped with both the metals (labelled "BTCA") as compared to pristine BT and mono metal modified BT with Cu and Ag. In case of photocatalytic CO hydrogenation, BTCA analyte demonstrated a proximal increase in CO conversion efficiency, which enhanced up to 39.1% as compared to monometallic doped and pristine BT. CO was the primary product of CO reduction, while CH was also produced to a lesser level. As CH selectivity increased, surface normalised CO conversion rates declined. This result was attributed to the difference in the number of electrons required to convert CO to CO or CH. In our previous work of pristine BT, methane selectivity was only 0.1-0.2% of the overall CO conversion. Hence, present findings are based on the modification of BT with copper and silver, for the evaluation of electron transfer and abundance for enhanced selectivity for CH.