Piezo‐photocatalytic activity of mechanochemically synthesized BiVO <sub>4</sub> for dye cleaning
Manish Kumar, Rahul Vaish, Samia Ben Ahmed
Abstract
Abstract Single‐phase BiVO 4 (BV) powder was synthesized successfully at 600°C within 4 h duration through the mechanochemical high energy ball milling method, and the combined photocatalytic and piezocatalytic activity was studied to exhibit piezo‐photocatalytic efficiency. Monoclinic BV phase existence in the synthesized powder was affirmed through Raman spectroscopy and the X‐ray diffraction techniques. The scanning electron microscopy affirmed the irregular‐shaped BV powder in the synthesized powders. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy affirmed the existence of various oxidation states of the elements V, Bi, and O in BV powders. The piezocatalytic and photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) dye degradation efficiency using BV powdered sample was observed to be 28% and 60%, respectively, within 240 min. The piezo‐photocatalytic MB dye degradation using BV powdered sample was observed to be 81% within 240 min. Effect of dye concentration on kinetic rate constant was also studied.