Fabrication of carnation flower-like Bi3TaO7/Ag/BiVO4 ternary photocatalyst for boosting pollutants degradation under visible light

Novel catalysts are significant for enhanced photocatalytic environmental reformation, particularly via a semiconductor-conductor-semiconductor trivia. Here, we have synthesized Bi3TaO7/Ag/BiVO4 nanoflower-like ternary photocatalysts with varying proportions (1:1, 1:3, and 3:1) of Bi3TaO7 and BiVO4/Ag by a simple hydrothermal technique. The catalysts were well investigated using XRD, HR-TEM-EDX, XPS, UV-DRS, FESEM-EDS, PL analysis, and elemental mapping. A carnation flower-like composite with a bandgap of 2.1 eV and low reconciliation tendency was obtained. The composite was found to be mesoporous in nature (20.38 nm) comprising an enormous area of 88 m(2)/g procured using the BET N-2 adsorption-desorption analysis. The composite (1:1) degraded antibiotic, tetracycline (TC), and dye, methylene blue (MB) with-92% (k 1/4 0.02128 min(-1)) and-99% (0.05439 min-1) under visible light. The results were attributed to an Ag-mediated electron shuttle formed between the 2D-2D semiconductors Bi3TaO7 and BiVO4, which facilitates visible-light absorption at a longer wavelength and promotes charge carrier separation. Catalyst concentration and pH analysis showed the optimum efficacy at pH 9 for MB (99.85%) and pH 3 for TC (92.94%) with 0.06 g/L catalyst concentration. ?OH, and O-2(?-) were involved in the degradation activity confirmed by scavenger studies. The stability of Bi3TaO7/Ag/BiVO4 nanoflower investigated repetitively for 4 cycles was reduced to 90.99% for MB and 88.84% for TC. The XRD pattern validated the composite's intactness after the catalysis reaction. Chemical Oxygen Demand analysis showed MB with 91.66% efficiency, and TC with 88.88% efficiency, indicating the applicability of the composite in treating organic pollutants. The current study furnishes a novel technique to fabricate Agmediated Bi3TaO7/BiVO4 heterostructure, which perhaps is a plausible visible-light active catalyst for any toxin removal.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel Bi3TaO7/Ag/BiVO4 nanoflower-like ternary photocatalyst was synthesized, which showed excellent performance in degrading organic pollutants under visible light. By forming electron shuttles between the 2D semiconductors, the catalyst can absorb visible light at longer wavelengths and promote charge carrier separation. Catalyst concentration and pH have significant effects on the catalytic activity.