Experimental insights on the synthesis and characteristics of Fe1−xBixVO4 photocatalysts for efficient environmental and electrical applications
Muhammad Munir Sajid, Haifa Zhai, Muhammad Aamir Iqbal, Naveed Akhtar Shad, Yasir Javed, Ali Raza Ishaq, Baraa Abd Alreda, Kareem Morsy, Jeong Ryeol Choi
Abstract
In this study, polycrystalline Fe1−xBixVO4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) photocatalysts were synthesized hydrothermally. The as-produced photocatalysts' morphology, crystal structure, chemical content, optical bandgap energy, electrochemical behavior, and interfacial characteristics were measured using the XRD, SEM, EDX, FTIR, XPS, UV–Vis-DRS, BET, and PL characterizations. The photocatalysis investigations were conducted to see whether the poisonous crystal violet (CV) dye could be decomposed over the Fe1−xBixVO4 composite. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) nature of Bi3+ can markedly raise the level of sensitivity to visible light, which would enhance the photocatalytic activity. By raising the electron population in Fe1−xBixVO4, the Schottky barrier that SPR produces at the interface between Bi3+ and FeVO4 increases the separation effectiveness of photoinduced charges. Various factors affecting the photocatalytic degradation of CV dye were examined in order to optimize the parameters. According to a radical trapping experiment, superoxide (O2¯) radicals are the most active species in the degradation of the anionic CV dye. In comparison to FeVO4 and BiVO4, these findings indicate that the Fe1−xBixVO4 composite possesses excellent photocatalytic and antibacterial activities. This work presents a novel approach to boosting light absorption, which encourages the development of effective photocatalysts for real-world uses. To observe the potential for additional applications, the antimicrobial and electrical properties of Fe1−xBixVO4 composites were also studied, and they exhibited good antimicrobial as well as electrical responses.