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Constructing magnetic Pt-loaded BiFeO3 nanocomposite for boosted visible light photocatalytic and antibacterial activities

  • Zeeshan Haider Jaffari
  • Sze Mun LamEmail author
  • Jin Chung Sin
  • Abdul Rahman Mohamed
Research Article
First Online:

Abstract

Visible light–responsive Pt-loaded coral-like BiFeO3 (Pt-BFO) nanocomposite at different Pt loadings was synthesized via a two-step hydrothermal synthesis method. The as-synthesized photocatalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and magnetic hysteresis loop (M-H loop) analyses. The FESEM images revealed that Pt nanoparticles were evenly distributed on the coral-like BFO. The UV–vis DRS results indicated that the addition of Pt dopant modified the optical properties of the BFO. The as-synthesized Pt-BFO nanocomposite was effectively applied for the photodegradation of malachite green (MG) dye under visible light irradiation. Specifically, 0.5 wt% Pt-BFO nanocomposite presented boosted photocatalytic performance than those of the pure BFO and commercial TiO2. Such a remarkably improved photoactivity could be mainly attributed to the formation of good interface between Pt and BFO, which not only boosted the separation efficiency of charge carriers but also possessed great redox ability for significant photocatalytic reaction. Moreover, the strong magnetic property of the Pt-BFO nanocomposite was helpful in the particle separation along with its great recyclability. The radical scavenger test indicated that hole (h+), hydroxyl (·OH) radical, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were the main oxidative species for the Pt-BFO photodegradation of MG. Finally, the Pt-BFO nanocomposite was revealed high antibacterial activity towards Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) microorganisms, highlighting its potential photocatalytic and antibacterial properties at different industrial and biomedical applications.

Keywords

BiFeO3 Pt-loaded Visible light Photocatalysis Antibacterial 
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Notes

Funding information

This research was supported by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTARRF/2018-C1/L02 and UTARRF/2018-C1/S02) and Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia (FRGS/1/2016/TK02/UTAR/02/1).

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© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green TechnologyUniversiti Tunku Abdul RahmanKamparMalaysia
  2. 2.Department of Petrochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green TechnologyUniversiti Tunku Abdul RahmanKamparMalaysia
  3. 3.School of Chemical EngineeringUniversiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering CampusNibong TebalMalaysia

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